Trends of Change in the Labour Market in Kerala, Sector-Wise: an Inquiry

Trends of Change in the Labour Market in Kerala, Sector-wise: An Inquiry

Report

Prepared by:

Dr. Anitha V., Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram

Sponsored by:

Kerala Institute of Labour and Employment Thozhil Bhabhavan, Thiruvananthapuram 2017

Acknowledgements

Let me express my sincere gratitude to many people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this work. First of all, my thanks are due to the Kerala Institute of Labour and Employment (KILE), for its financial assistance and other services. The core committee for research of KILE has provided me with very appropriate guidelines for developing a design for the study and constructive comments on the preliminary reports for corrections and ensure the quality of the study. Primary data were collected from English Indian Clays Ltd., Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, Co-operative Spinning Mill(Chathannoor), United Electricals Ltd, (Kollam), Indian Coffee Houses(Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam), Companies in the Techno park, textile shops, a few households and head load workers. Secondary data were obtained from documents provided by these institutions and also from the internet. The workers and the union leaders were very open in their view points. Senior Managing Directors, HRM Managers, subject experts and heads of households were very critical about the various aspects of the current labour market. Sincere thanks are due to all of them who have enriched the study with facts and figures and constructive criticisms.

Anitha V.

List of Tables

4.1 Growth engines of Kerala economy: industry/sector and the 40 emergence of business land scape 5.1 Classification of techies on the basis of their monthly remuneration 44

5.2 Techies on the basis of opinion regarding their remuneration 45

5.3 Classification of techies on the basis of their overtime work 45

5.4 Techies on the basis of opinion regarding additional payment 46

5.5 Techies on the basis of opinion regarding the facilities at workplace 46

5.6 Techies’ relationship with others at work place 47

5.7 Techies’ opinion regarding labour laws and policies 48

5.8 Workers on the basis of their opinion in terms of levels of 52 satisfaction

5.9 Workers on the basis of their monthly remuneration 55

5.10 Satisfaction of workers regarding their remuneration 55

5.11 Classification of workers on the basis of daily hours of work 56

5.12 Classification of workers on the basis of their break during the 56 working time

5.13 Satisfaction of workers regarding their bonus 57

5.14 Workers opinion regarding their relationship with others 58

5.15 Satisfaction regarding the employer/employee and different aspects 59 (in Percentage)

List of Diagrams

4.1 Factors which Impact on the Labour Market in Kerala (2017) 36

4.2 Impact of the Labour Market on Employers and Business (2017) 37

4.3 Wealth Creation if there is “Ease of Doing Business” 39

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List of Abbreviations

AITUC All India Trade Union Congress ALCAN Aluminium Canada BFSI Banking Financial Services and Insurance CIRC Coir Industrial Relations Committee CITU Centre of Indian Trade Unions COMINCO Consolidated Mining Company, Canada CSR Corporate Social Responsibility E-E Employer-Employee ESI Employees State Insurance GoI Government of India HRM Human Resource Management IIPM Indian Institute of Personal Management INTUC Indian National Trade Union Congress INR Indian Rupee IT Information Technology KSRTC Kerala State Road Transport Corporation KTUC Kerala Trade Union Congress LM Labour Market NBFC Non-Banking Financial Company RSP Revolutionary Socialist Party TU Trade Union UTUC United Trade Union Congress

Contents

Acknowledgements i

List of Tables ii

List of diagrams iii

List of abbreviations iv

Preface vi

Experts who guided the Study with Facts and Figures and Critical Comments vii Executive summary ix Chapter Page

I Introduction 1

II Theoretical Underpinnings and Review of Literature 5

III Methodology 13

IV Trends of Change in the Kerala Labour Market: Twists and Turns Over 17 the Years

V The Current Scenario 42

VI Conclusions and Observations 65

Appendices

Appendix I Bibliography I Appendix II Interview Schedule for Senior Managers, III Workers, Subject Experts and TU Leaders Appendix III Interview Schedule for workers VII

Preface

Trends of change in the labour market during the past 100 years in Kerala is a very complex subject for an empirical study. Facts and figures are available but with a prejudice. The left-oriented leaders and the writers are found to be strong patrons of labour while the proprietors and managements of industries – big and small, are highly critical of their workers and their union leadership with a host of complaints and grievances. Obviously, it is difficult for a research scholar to be impartial and independent to understand, analyse, discuss and arrive at meaningful inferences from the twists and turns of the very vibrant labour market in Kerala which is unique in several respects, compared to the labour and the industrial scenario of other states in India.

It is found that most of the managements of industrial units are reluctant to issue “a good conduct certificate” to their workers in respect of their productivity, discipline in work, obedience to the instructions of their superiors and are suspicious of their loyalty to their organisation and vice versa. According to a senior retired Managing Director of a reputed company in Kerala, “The Malayali workers are an asset to the organisations in other states and abroad but quarrelsome and frequently obstructive to the smooth functioning of the factories in Kerala.” Perhaps, this “aggressiveness” may be due to their class-consciousness and lack of faith in the capitalism of the so called bourgeoisies. The “interesting discovery” of the study is that the average Malayali worker is suspicious of the managements of private enterprises; they prefer to have industries and institutions owned and managed by the State.

These were only the wild, hypothetical thoughts of this researcher prior to initiating the study. The findings and observations are given, in detail, in the report.

Anitha V.

Experts who Guided the Study with Facts and Figures and Critical Comments

1. Sri. V.V. Vijayan IAS 2 S. Girish Kesavan Labour Commissioner (Retd.) Managing Director (Retd.), and former Managing Director, United Electrical Industries, Travancore Titanium Ltd. Kollam 3 Sri. Anathalavattom Anandan 4 Sri. V.J. Joseph, General President, CITU (Kerala) Secretary, INTUC, State Committee 5 Sri. M. Sivadas 6 Sri. Alias M. V. Additional Labour Senior Manager HR and IR, Commissioner (Retd.) English Indian Clays Ltd. Thiruvananthapuram 7 Sri. M.S. Sreekumar 8 Sri. G. Rajmohan HRM Manager (Retd.) Former Chairman & Chief (KELTRON & Binani Zinc) Managing Director HLL, Thiruvananthapuram 9 Prof. Dr. Radhakrishna Pillai 10 Sri. P.O. Yatheendramohan (Retd.) Former Director, Management Consultant State Bank of Travancore Trivandrum 11 Sri. K.S. Vijayan 12 Sri. K. Suresh Babu Director (Retd.) National Secretary, INTUC Kerala State Road Transport Corporation 13 Sri. P. Devadas 14 Sri. A. Younus Kunju Deputy Manager, HRM (Retd.), Proprietor, Younus Cashew KELTRON Industries, Kollam Former Vice-Chairman, Cashew Export Promotion Council

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15 Sri. TSN. Pillai 16 Dr. J. Rajan, Prof & Head, Professor (Retd.) IMK, University of Kerala Loyola College of Social (Retd.) Sciences 17 Dr. Manu Bhaskar, Prof. & 18 Sri. S. Thulaseedharan, Head, Sociology Department, Addl. Labour Commissioner University of Kerala (Retd.) (IR)

19 Dr. Jayaprakash, HRM 20 K. P. Sankaradas, Manager, Spinning Mill, Co- Director(Non-official) Kerala operative Chathannoor State Road Transport Corporation 21 N. Padmalochanan, State 22 P. Sundaran, MD, Sreelekshmi Secretary, CITU, Kerala Cashew Company and Chairman, The Cashew Export Promotion Council of India

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Trends of Change in the Labour Market in Kerala, Sector-wise: An Inquiry

Executive Summary 1. The Background The labour market in Kerala is very complex, vibrant and has been changing continuously. It is visible from the janmi-kudiyan master-servant system, followed by management-dominant British-colonial system, union- dominant bargaining system during the post-Independent period, union-free IT parks and a policy change (1991) of the Central government in favour of the private sector and a controlled labour sector to promote “the ease of doing business”. In this context, the question arises: what are the driving forces (variables) that cause these changes and their implications for the industry, employment opportunities and the larger economy, especially in the State of Kerala. It is obvious that this is a longitudinal study from a historical perspective. It covers a period of almost a century, from 1920 onwards. 2. Objectives of the study The main objective is to identify and document the trends of change (sector- wise) and their characteristics which the labour market in Kerala undergoes, from a historical perspective. Specific objectives 1. To identify the major factors (variables) which impact on the labour market(LM) and bring out the changes 2. To study the impact of the major changes on labour and the employers and their consequences for the State’s economy. 3. To formulate guidelines, on the basis of the findings of the study, for integrating the needs of labour and that of the employers so that the labour-market is not an arena for frequent conflicts but for cooperative partnership. 3. The sectors The main sectors of the economy consists of agriculture, plantations, manufacturing, construction, IT, service sector consisting of hospitals, schools and colleges, shops and other commercial establishments, traditional industries such as handlooms, pottery, coir, cashew and handicrafts and the vast coastal-fishing and fishermen. Kerala has a big labour market in all these sectors who are members of about one crore households.

4. Major concept

The concept “labour” means, “practical work, especially when it involves hard physical effort. It also means “workers, especially people who do practical work with their hands” (Cambridge Dictionary). For the purpose of this study, the concept “labour” means, “workmen” as defined in the Industrial Disputes Act (1947), Section 2(s) defines, “workman as any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work, for hire or reward,

5. Feudal Labour Market

The janmi-kudiyan relationship in the agrarian sector had all the characteristics of a typical feudal society. Class and caste merged into the upper class and the lower class. But, there was no class-consciousness among the workers who did farm work for the land lord. There was exploitation by the janmi but the adiyan was not aware of that. This sort of “labour market” was prevalent in the agrarian sector in Kerala. The main characteristic of this relationship is the absence of negotiation for wages and perks. But the janmi took care of the adiyan and his family and provided food security and social security. It was a continuous relationship through generations.

6. The twist

The labour market especially in the industrial sector in India emerged during the 19th century, thanks to the laudable efforts of the British. Entrepreneurs from England and Scotland established medium and big factories in India especially in Kanpur, Ahmadabad, Bombay, Bengal and in Kerala. Alappuzha became the hub of coir industry with the establishment of several big coir manufacturing units.

But, the colonial managements treated the workers badly: low wages, long working hours, unhygienic working conditions, no leave facilities and no job security. That situation slowly but steadily paved the way for unionisation of the work force. The Travancore Coir Workers’ Association was organised in 1922 by a group of educated youngsters- V.K.Velayudhan, Baba, P. Krishna Pillai, R. Sugathan and others. The red flag was hoisted which symbolised the revolutionary philosophy of Karl Marx with its main strategy of class struggle led by the proletariat.

Inspired by the vibrant union activities in Alappusha in the coir sector, the farm workers in Kuttanad, Palakkad and Malabar also tried to organise themselves. Local leaders gradually started, unilaterally fixing the working hours in the paddy fields and also the wages and perks. Peace in the paddy fields was disturbed. The kudiyan- jenmi relationship in the labour market got twisted and gradually, the workers became powerful and dominant while the land owners became submissive.

This tendency of the unions resulted in frequent conflicts between the land owners and the workers. Obviously, the labour market in the agricultural sector all over the State became an arena for class struggle and occasional violence. Another factor of conflict was the workers’ strong opposition to mechanisation of the cultivation process. The net result was, the gradual withdrawal of land owners from agriculture. The adversity of the impact is visible. Production of paddy came down to 7.5 lakh tonnes from 14 lakhs (1960s and 70s) in the State at present. Partly, the misguided leadership of the workers is responsible for this decline.

7. Golden period of unions

The period between 1945-1980 is considered as the “golden period” of the trade union movement in Kerala. With numerical strength, money power, better education and legal power provided by the various labour laws, the labour market was strongly twisted in the sense that the workers in all major sectors of the economy had become dominant and the buyers of their services (employers) were/are being rendered submissive, with a few exceptions.

The main driving force in support of labour in Kerala is the political leadership and the protection given to them against “the rank exploitation and the unfair practices of the employers”. The axiom, “Inculab Zindabab”: “struggle today and live with freedom tomorrow” was the guiding slogan.

8. IT sector

The overall impression is that in the IT parks, the labour market is just the opposite- dominated by the employer. And the State Government has permitted them to be so. The IT companies function without any disturbances. Perhaps this may be due to the absence of unions within the campus. Outside, the head load workers are very active and often creates problems and demand the “dreadful” nokku coolie.

The techies are not satisfied with their salaries (Rs. 8000 - Rs.50,000)which are not proportionate to their technical qualifications, nature of work and long hours of work without respite and uncertainty in availing leave when required and holidays as per the urgency of work. Lack of permanency in employment is another serious lacuna and a perpetual worry. Due to this, techies do not have a sense of security and peace. But, the industry is prosperous.

In fact, employment in the IT industry is controlled by the availability or non- availability of project assignments from foreign countries. The nature of the work in IT industry is quite different from that in the manufacturing sector. Most of the existing labour laws are attuned to the systems prevailing in the manufacturing sector over the years. Therefore, a new set of laws specific to the project-based work of IT business has to be framed immediately and solve their problems but keep the Park as a union-free zone.

9. Co-operative sector

Kerala has a large and vibrant co-operative sector comprising all kinds of business especially the traditional ones-coir, handloom, handicrafts, beedi, agriculture, bamboo, pottery, etc.. There are different types of activity such as production, marketing and banking. A co- operative institution is unique in certain respects. One is a legal member of a society, he is a shareholder, he is part of the management being a shareholder and also a worker. In other words, a member of a society is both a seller of work and also a buyer of the work-a two in one person. Therefore, there is no class conflict in a typical co-operative society and hence, there is no chance for exploitation provided the members who manage are free from corruption. In one sense a co-operative production cum marketing unit is a classless institution according to an ideal Marxian theory.

10. Textile shop

Regarding the labour market in the textile and other shops, the owners are dominant and enforce strict obedience and discipline among the staff. The appointment is largely informal in the sense that these workers are not given any formal appointment orders, indicating the terms and conditions of service, the pay structure, criteria for increment or promotion, working hours and other statutory benefits such as provident fund, insurance, gratuity and so on. In all these matters, there is an element of secrecy. The proprietors, most of them, very cleverly “keep out” the enforcement officers and the local union leaders.

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11. Household sector

Kerala, at present, experience shortage of labour for casual works such as cleaning the premises carpentry, masonry, plucking coconuts, electrical works, plumbing, painting, kitchen work, home nursing and other manual or low end jobs. It is noted that very often the householder is put under tension by the workers doing the services listed above. In general, they dictate the wages and other terms and conditions of work. It is a sellers’ labour market. If the householder argues and raises his voice, the worker is found withdrawing from the scene instantly and often advises others to boycott this particular household. Majority of the heads of households, interviewed had more or less the same experience. Even the head of the household as the employer who pays the wages is not allowed to supervise the work and demand correctives.

The emergence of middle men in almost all the activities in the domestic sector is a common phenomenon. The supply agency has separated the job-seekers from the head of the households and as “middlemen”, dictate the wages and terms and conditions of employment. The agency has become powerful and exploitative. It is a money- making business without any investment and registration.

Due to the intervention of politically powerful union leaders, the headload workers are powerful, arrogant and dictates the wages and other terms and conditions. In most of the cases, the submissive employer is compelled to pay nokku coolie. Government should take strict action to control the headload workers and the union leaders should co-operate with it to eliminate this evil from the State.

12. Impact of unions

The positive outcome of unionisation as per the study are: workers in sectors such as manufacturing industries, agriculture, plantations, construction, traditional industries such as cashew, coir, tiles and those doing casual work such as loading and unloading, cleaning the premises, plucking coconuts, rubber tapping, plumbing, household electric works, maintenance work, carpentry, and such others have become empowered and ably protect themselves against dominance and exploitation by the employers. In fact, it is the other way. Some of them try to dominate and dictate the wages, duration of the work time and the facilities they require. The employers are put at the receiving end. There is almost no chance for bargaining by the employer. Of course, there are exceptions. The trends of change in the status of workers over

xiii the years is from being scattered and submissive (up to 1940s) to unionisation and equalisation (1950s to 1980s) and at present, to dominance and decision-making in most of the work situations.

The question is, what are the implications of this dominance in the labour market? Private capital is somewhat reluctant to invest in Kerala and as we know that, entrepreneurship and capital are the creators of jobs, jobs create labour and labour earns wages. The substitute to private capital is public investment by the government. Of the 100 plus public enterprises set up in the State, only 15%-20% of them consistently generate some profit. Others incur huge losses year after year. In other words, job creation by these enterprises is almost nil. Which means, the labour market is diminishing in the context of increasing number of job-seekers- unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled. They are compelled to emigrate to other states and abroad, away from their dear kith and kin.

However, low-end jobs are available because of the exodus of Kerala labour and this vacuum has attracted wokers from other states. What is the impact of this in-migration on the local labour market? The market has undergone a U-turn. Whatever the Kerala labour has laboriously achieved during the past 100 years is lost as far as the in-migrants are concerned. The actual wages, they get are less than the prevailing rate in the construction sector and others, working hours fixed by the employer or his contractor, working conditions are very poor and sometimes dangerous, denial of statutory benefits, no compensation for injuries sustained during work and so on. The local union leaders are aware of this U-turn: loss of everything the Kerala workers have gained through incessant struggle.

It is found that the dominance of unions and their leadership is more in the public sector enterprises than in private companies. In the latter, the managements strongly resist the onslaught and control the unions by fair or unfair means. On the other hand, the public sector company has, in reality, no claimant in the bureaucratic set-up. The unions are more powerful than the management because they are part and parcel of the political set up. Business norms are suppressed. And there is a misconception that the public enterprises are not intended for promoting business from a professional point of view and make profit but for serving the public, otherwise. Perhaps the concept, ‘profit’ is a ‘dirty word’. No wonder, KSRTC has an accumulated loss of Rs. 6000 crore and the Air India has incurred a debt of about Rs. 56,000 crore. Setting up enterprises is very difficult and managing them in a profit-oriented style is much more difficult. Unless, the professional managers have the freedom to exercise their

xiv competence in planning, organising, directing, and controlling, the business cannot be taken forward, taking risks and generate surplus incomes in a competitive environment. The internal union leaders should be aware of these basic requirements of modern business and change their style of functioning in the day to day working of the enterprise. Otherwise, the management process of getting things done through others would get eroded through continuous struggles, resulting in low labour productivity, low output and low profit or no profit.

Likewise, the unions are required to agree to productivity-linked long-term agreements, instead of the present time- based increase in salary and benefits once in 3-5 years. More profit means more wages. Less or no profit means less wages.

13. Return to private capital

The New Economic Reforms (1991) envisages a return to private capital because the public enterprises have become a big financial burden to the state and indirectly, to the common man. Kerala should also adopt an investor-friendly policy, based on ‘ease of doing businesses’. And the union leadership should bring out appropriate changes in their style of day to day functioning so that more and more industries could be attracted to the State, thereby, more and more job opportunities could be generated thereby enlarge and enrich the stagnant labour market.

Chapter I Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

Labour market is the market where interface of a worker and an employer takes place. In this market, a worker tries to sell his/her labour and the employer buys it. Here, the seller aims at maximum reward and the buyer tries to minimize it. In other words, there is a power struggle between the buyer and the seller and obviously, conflict is inevitable. It is well known that Kerala has a very vibrant labour market. There is a close link between the gradual development of the industrial sector in the State and the complexity of the employer-employee relationship. The industrialization of Kerala in the modern sense began during the British period. They introduced machine-based production process in early 1900s in Bombay, Gujarat, Bangal and Kerala. Some of the units in Kerala were big coir factories in Alappuzha, Travancore Minerals Ltd. and Hopkin and Williams Ltd. (Chavara), Harrisons and Crossfield Tile Factory (Kollam). During these times, the workers were treated like slaves. The employer was dominant and the worker was submissive. The then government provided full freedom to the managements so that they could “hire and fire” employees at will. With the passing of the Trade Union Act in 1926, the unions of workers got legal power and developed numerical strength, thanks to the political support especially from the left ideology-oriented leaders. Here comes the importance of Marxian Theory of class- consciousness leading to class-struggle against the capitalists – the bourgeoisies. The second stage started from 1946-47 and a lot of diversions took place in the employment structure. Around 300 and odd legislations and amendments were enacted for the protection of the rights of workers: the Factories Act, 1948, the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the ESI Act, 1948, and the Provident Fund Act, 1951 and so on. As part of the development plan agenda, in the Second Five Year Plan, the Government of India brought out a comprehensive Industrial Policy Resolution (1956) guided by socialist principles, indicating a developed “public sector occupying the commanding heights of the

1 economy and a controlled and regulated private sector and village and small scale industries”. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister and considered as the father of the concept of the public sector in India, in one of his speeches on this subject in the Parliament, said that we have to evolve a system of working public enterprises, where, on the one hand there are adequate checks and protections, and on the other, enough freedom for the public enterprises to work quickly and without delay. As a result, both the Central and the State Governments promoted the industries in the public sector. In Kerala, a good number of public sector production units - large and medium became dominant and the private sector became weak without much development. With the support of labour laws and regulations, and the governments’ labour policy, the trade unions became empowered and their bargaining power increased. The third stage began with the introduction of the New Economic Reforms in 1991 by the Government of India. The basic characteristics of the reform process are liberalization, privatization, globalization and the free market. The major steps taken by the Government as part of these policies are sale of shares, disinvestment in public sector, reduction in tariffs, long term trade policy, etc. It is obvious that this emphasis on private capital will affect the unions and their leadership to change their policies and style of functioning. No more class struggles. Otherwise, private capital would be reluctant to invest and generate more and more employment opportunities for the educated and the uneducated. This is a warning to the state of Kerala. The new policy is strongly impacting on the labour market which is affected by outmigration of about 35 lakhs of Keralites seeking jobs in Gulf countries and elsewhere mainly for low end jobs. And the vacuum created as a result of this outmigration has attracted more than 30 lakhs of workers from other states for doing low end jobs. This study is to investigate the dynamics of these changes in the otherwise volatile labour market in Kerala.

1.2 Statement of the problem The employment generation scenario in Kerala has been changing continuously. It is visible from the age old slavery system of the feudal society, followed by the management- dominant British business system and later, the powerful collective bargaining of the workers and their intervention in the day to day management process of the organization and its

2 impact – positive and negative. The study focuses on the nature of the labour market in Kerala, its twists and turns over the years and understand the driving variables as well as their impact on the economy of the State.

1.3 Scope and significance of the study The term, “scope” means the extent and size of the problem selected for the study. In the State, the labour force to the general population ratio is 34% which is lower than that in India (56%) and in the world (64%). The functioning of the labour market determines the productive capacity and status of the economy. The twists and turns in the market may produce positive results or negative results. A disciplined and hardworking labor force will attract investment. On the other hand, an aggressive work force will deter further investment. Furthermore, such work force, in due course, will render existing units sick (industrial sickness). A critical look at these factors and their impact on the production and productivity of the economy of the State, obviously, is a significant aspect of the study.

1.4 Objectives of the study The general objective is to identify and document the trends of change (sector-wise) and their characteristics which the labour market in Kerala undergoes, from a historical perspective.

Specific objectives

1. To identify the major factors (variables) which impact on the labour market and bring out the changes 2. To study the impact of the major changes on labour and the employers and their consequences for the State’s economy. 3. To formulate guidelines, on the basis of the findings of the study, for integrating the needs of labour and that of the employers so that the labour-market is not an arena for frequent conflicts but for cooperative partnership.

1.5 Limitations of the study This study is in one sense very comprehensive. But, it is confined to the labour markets of the manufacturing sector, co-operative, IT, service sector, and the informal households. Major sectors which engage huge labour force such as agriculture, plantations, construction, fishing, traditional, informal and in-migrant labourers are left out because such a comprehensive study could be undertaken only by a team of subject experts, investigators, supporting staff, adequate financial support and time.

Chapter II Theoretical Underpinnings and Review of Studies C1 2.1 Introduction

The concepts

 The concept “labour” means, “practical work, especially when it involves hard physical effort. It also means “workers, especially people who do practical work with their hands.” (Cambridge Dictionary). For the purpose of this study, the concept “labour” means, “workmen” as defined in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Section 2(s) defines, “workman as any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work, for hire or reward, terms of employment be express or implied and includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched in connection with, or as a consequence of dispute. It excludes persons employed in army/Navy/Air Force/Police and those employed in mainly managerial or administrative, supervisory capacity and drawing wages of more than INR 6500.”

 Labour economics- seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the markets for wage labour. It looks at the suppliers of labour services (workers) and the demanders of labour services (employers), and attempts to understand the resulting pattern of wages, employment, and income.  Labor force- the people of a country or other geographic entity actively employed or seeking employment.  The term, “labour market” is defined as, “the place where workers and employers interact with each other. The employers compete to hire the best, and the workers compete for the best satisfying job.” (The Economic Times, March 10, 2017).

The labour market refers to the supply and demand for labour, in which employees provide the supply and the employers, the demand. It is a major component of any economy, and is intricately tied in with markets for capital, goods and services. (Investopedia).

For the purpose of this study, “labour market is defined as a process through which employers are on the lookout for labour, having the prescribed competency traits and where workers try to sell their services for maximum wages and acceptable working conditions. The process ends with a negotiated settlement.”

 Labor relations - the study of the relationship between management and workers.  Labour movement - the development of a collective organisation of working people  Labour union or trade union - an association of wage-earners meant to maintain or improve conditions of employment.

 Classification of labour 1. Bonded labour, a system of un-free labour, where a person must work to pay off a debt 2. Contract labour - temporary employment 3. Permanent labour – serves until retirement 4. Child labour 5. Migrant labour

 Decent work

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), decent work involves opportunities for work that are productive and deliver a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and

6 men. It has four pillars: standards and rights at work, employment creation and enterprise development, social protection and social dialogue.

2.2 Theoretical Underpinnings

There are many theories for explaining labour - management relationship. They include Marxian Theory on Labour, Schools of Thought in labour theory, Negotiation Theory, Managerial Theories, theories on wages and labour laws.

2.2.1 Schools of thought One of the factors of production labour is unique due to its human dimension. Since nature of human being is location specific, labour market structure also changes geographically. Labour economics deals with two schools of thought neoclassical approach and institutionalist or radical Marxian approach. However, a lot of opinions developed from these approaches. Market structure is one of the most important differences among theories. Competitive theory states that labour market is one competitive aggregate market for labour. Wages and employment levels are determined by the interactions of demand and supply. On the other hand, Segmented Labour Market theory states that labour markets contain multiple segments. Markets of labour are segmented, therefore wages are not corresponding market prices for labour and do not reflect the relative surplus or scarcity of aggregate labour, as predicted by competitive orthodox theory. Labour markets do not clear in conventional competitive way. A firm can adjust to labour market imbalances in a number of ways, by varying job allocations, recruitment standards, the training of workers, overtime and subcontracting, etc. These adjustment instruments largely substitute for wage changes leaving little role for wages in the adjustment process. Firms are reluctant to change wage structures when labour and product market conditions alter, and any adjustment is slow and largely through previously determined rules for changes in working patterns. Wage increases are a result of a bargaining process and tend to be applied across the board. The size of wage

7 increases reflects the firm-specific factors such as financial performance, rather than just the external market forces, which drive wage changes in the competitive model. The ideas of two major schools of thought is relevant in this context. The proponents of efficiency and market-oriented reforms seek greater labour market flexibility in terms of hiring and firing as well as working hours, ease of reallocating labour, reducing the cost of retrenchment and obtaining more speed in decision-making including layoffs, lockouts and closures. The proponents of equity and social justice argue that labour regulations covering basic rights of workers are often conspicuous by their absence due either to a deliberate policy of government or to the weak enforcement of regulations intended for the benefit of the large majority of workers in the informal economy. These workers face added problems due to market risks since they rarely have a contractual basis for the work they undertake. A case needs to be made to provide basic rights and effective systems of social protection in order to achieve decent employment for informal sector workers.

2.2.2 Marxian theory on labour Theories related to employee – employer relations can be classified into labour theories and management theories. The fundamental theory related to this category is the Marxian Theory of Class Struggle. According to Marxism, there are two main classes of people: the bourgeoisie who controls capital and the means of production, and the proletariat who provides the labour. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels say that there had been the struggle between these two classes. This is called social conflict and it occurs when two or more actors oppose each other in social interaction, reciprocally exerting social power in an effort to attain scarce or incompatible goals and prevent the opponent from attaining them. 2.2.3 Negotiation theory There are different schools of thought related to the theories of negotiation approach. One of the main schools of thought classifies the theories such as negotiation as puzzle solving, negotiations as a bargaining game, negotiation as organizational management and negotiation as diplomatic politics (Daniel Druckman, 1997). Another school of thought classifies the negotiation theories into five different approaches such as structural, strategic, process-based, behavioural and integrative (Zartman,1988).

2.2.4 Theories on wages Regarding the wages, economists have different opinions. According to the classical economists, wage is determined on the basis of profit. If the rate of profit is declined, industrial activities would reduce and thereby unemployment and vice-versa. In this context, the role of trade union is negligible. But, the modern economists argue that trade unions can ensure that labour is paid equivalent to the marginal productivity of wages.

2.2.5 Managerial theories

Managerial theories includes numerous interrelated and overlapping theories that attempt to explain the different aspects of management. Some of the most popular management theories are (i) Scientific Theory by Frederick W. Taylor; (ii)Administrative Theory by Henri Fayol; (iii)Bureaucratic Theory by Max Weber; (iv)Human Relations Theory by Elton Mayo;(v)Systems Theory by Ludwig con Bertalanffy and (vi)X&Y Theory by Douglas McGregor. Here, the first one is the conventional one. Scientific management is a theory of management that analyses and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labour productivity. Scientific management is sometimes known as Taylorism after its founder, Frederick Winslow Taylor. It is also called classical management theory, entered the mainstream in the early 1900s, with an emphasis on increasing worker productivity. According to this theory (Frederick Winslow Taylor, 1910), the duties of manager are grouped under four heads:

First. They develop a science for each element of a man’s work, which replaces the old rule- of-thumb method.

Second. They scientifically select and then train, teach, and develop the workman, whereas in the past he chose his own work and trained himself as best he could.

Third. They heartily cooperate with the men so as to insure all of the work being done in accordance with the principles of the science which has been developed.

Fourth. There is an almost equal division of the work and the responsibility between the management and the workmen. The management take over all work for which they are better

9 fitted than the workmen, while in the past almost all of the work and the greater part of the responsibility were thrown upon the men. Thus the combination of scientific management constitute: science, not rule of thumb; harmony, not discord; cooperation, not individualism and maximum output, in place of restricted output.

2.2.6 Labour laws It is obvious that the labour market and the relationship between the employer and the employee (the buyer and the seller) is regulated by the government through various legislations and court judgements. In other words, the relationship in the labour market is not bipartite but tripartite-the government is the third party. 2.2.7 Win-win theory In any relationship, there should be workable terms and conditions and a sense of responsibility and co-operation between the two parties with concerns for the good of both. This is what the win-win theory stipulates. Otherwise, it will be a win-lose negotiation-one party winning at the cost of loss for the other and vice versa. If this situation is not corrected, both will end in a lose-lose relationship. Applied to the relationship between management and labour, this is what we find in our country. If the two parties, co-operate in work, the organization is bound to make surplus income, which could be shared through friendly negotiations guided by the win-win principle. This theory is built upon the concept that both labour and management depend upon the earnings of the institution. In other words both cannot be class enemies but can only be partners having the same goals and share in the profit. The conceptual and the theoretical interpretations of the labour market and the tripartite relationships listed above, are more or less relevant to this study. Kerala is in general, guided by leftist ideologies and politics in all issues related to labour and industrial development with preference for the public sector and emphasis on democratic participation of the working class in all aspects of the industry, business and development administration and the economy. In the past, the class struggle theory of Marx was a favourite subject of discussion among the working class and their political leadership. Even art and literature were used for dissemination of these concepts. Hence, analysis and interpretation of the facts

10 and figures collected from the prime stake holders of the labour market will be done according to the declared theoretical norms listed above.

2.3 Review of studies

Even though a variety of employee-employer relationship exists in Kerala, the studies related to this relationship is less. Since, a lot of factors influence the relationship, an attempt is made to incorporate studies related to this aspect. The structure of the labour market in Kerala is very vibrant and dynamic. This is visible in all the sectors such as agriculture, industry, construction and service. According to K. P. Kannan (1998) the role of labour unions has been central in deciding the course of Kerala’s economic development and often unions play a proactive role with the State, responding to given situations. It is an accepted fact that earlier, union leaders played a commendable role in the progress of working class (Kumar Revi S.P., 1991). At that time, workers were illiterate and ignorant about their rights, unorganised for fear of authority and subjected to exploitation by the management; but later, union leaders became politically conscious and started to see union as an organ for achieving political ends. Nizami Naushee and Prasad Narayan (2013) holds the view that to participate in the decision-making process of company matters is a basic labour right. But, there is less room for social dialogue in the IT sector and there is clear divide between the worker and the manager. One of the major factors determining the productivity of any manufacturing unit is the relationship among the management, workers and the supervisors. It is revealed that top management is more important to productivity compared to supervisors and the workers (Prakasam Rajappa, 1976). In order to enhance the relationship between the supervisors and employees, the management must take steps to holding regular meetings to discuss problems arising out of work and must seek suggestion to find solution for the same (Devamaindhan B., 2014). Management must conduct programs such as personal counseling, seminar, lectures and professional counseling to shortcut their employee’s problems in an easy way.

According to Nisren Osama Al (2015), the main components of management- employee relationship are human resource practices mainly, communication, trust, shared goals, values, and leadership styles. Discipline that benefits the company and the employees, Employers will treat their employees with respect and vice versa if they all want to succeed and achieve goals. Spending a time with the employees, listening to employees is important (Devamaindhan, 2014). The negative effects of employer –employee relation, an employer who fails to understand issues concerning his employees might not achieve long-term success in his enterprise. In their paper Berkely and Watson (2009) aimed to underscore the importance of developing and nurturing the employer–employee relationship in ways that contributes to the organization’s ethical and CSR agenda. Studies on the dynamics of labour market seems to be rare. The scholar could not come across even one study related to Kerala or India. The closely related subject is employer-employee relationship (E-E). About this, plenty of studies are there. In fact E-E relationship is the result of a negotiated partnership in the labour market. But studies focused on the nature, the significance, and the twists and turns of the market is not available for reference.

Chapter III

Methodology 3.1 Introduction

The study is purely problem-oriented and diagnostic in nature. Basically, this is a descriptive study of the past and the present, investigating into the various driving forces (variables) which were/are active in the labour market creating twist and turns in employer –employee relationships. The assessment of the changes, sector-wise in the labour market, prior to Independence and after is done from a historical perspective. A review of literature and documents on the subject was done prior to field work. The main method of study in the field was broadly guided by the principles of case study which enabled the researcher to look into the past of the labour market, its characteristics, the changes undergone, the driving forces of the labour market and their impact on the functioning of the institutions in the selected sectors-manufacturing, IT, co- operative, service and the household in the informal sector 3.2 Sources of data Facts and figures relevant to the objectives of the study were collected from English Indian Clays (Kochuveli), Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, HLL(Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala Automobiles(Balaramapuram) and Kerala Metals and Minerals(Chavara). For this an interview guide was used. The researcher sought and got the assistance of about 19 subject experts having direct experience in managing labour and their unions in big industrial units in Kerala, leaders of powerful unions and scholars of labour relations. Viewpoints on the Kerala labour market and its changes over the years were generated through well-planned, cumulative, interactive sessions using appropriate guidelines. For a comprehensive understanding of the current labour market trends, sample surveys were conducted among different sectors which include IT, co-operative, textile shops and the households.

3.2.1 IT sector

This sector is obviously quite different from the traditional manufacturing sector. It is without unions, thanks to an unwritten policy of the state governments in India. From Techno Park in Thiruvananthapuram, the required data were collected from techies (known as knowledge-worker) of nine companies such as Allianz, Polus Software, UST Global, Quest Global, Mckinsey, IBS software, Infosys, Suntech and Eurozapp using an interview schedule. Altogether, the sample size was 78.

3.2.2 Co-operative sector

Data were collected from the HRM manager, the Spinning Mill in Chathanoor and from 20 workers of the Indian Coffee House at Pattom, Kazhakoottam and Kottarakkara.

3.2.3 Service sector

This sector consists of shops and commercial establishments such as jewellery, textile, margin free shops, electronic shops, and the like. Employment generation in textile shops is much higher than that in others. Hence, 60 workers-men and women were randomly selected from five shops in-Thiruvananthapuram, Attingal and Parippally. 3.2.4. Household sector

In this sector, the labour market is an interface between the head of the household and the worker in the family setting. The work includes carpentry, masonry, plucking coconuts, electrical work, plumbing, painting, kitchen work, home nursing, headload and other manual low end jobs. Data were collected from 10 heads of households.

In order to get a clear picture of the household labour market, 40 women were interviewed and discussion held with the heads of four agencies which supply them.

3.3 The universe The universe of the study consists of all the partners of the labour market in Kerala – the employers and the labourers in all the sectors of Kerala economy. 3.4 The unit of study It consists of prominent and knowledgeable union leader, HRM manager, programme developer in the IT company, the worker in the textile shop and in the Indian Coffee House,

14 the casual worker and the head of the household. In fact, they are the participating stakeholders of the labour market. In other words, they are the object of the study and also the sources of information. For this, the investigators visited the institutions, union offices and the households. 3.5 Key variables

The major driving force of the labour market can be classified into two: factors which impact on the labour market in Kerala and bring out its twists and turns and the impact of these twists and turns on the employers and their business interests: 1. Causative Variables impacting on the labour market are: o Dominant management and submissive workmen o Dominant workmen and submissive management o Management and workmen as equal partners o Parochialism, nepotism, corruption and political considerations in recruitment of labour. o Domination by union leadership o Inter-union rivalry o Militancy and violence of the unions o Management’s decisions which adversely affect the interests of labour o Government’s industrial and labour policies o Labour and company laws o Politicization of union work 2. Dependent variables The impact of these causative variables listed above on the industries and on the larger economy of the State is examined in detail and is given below: o Private capital has become shy o Rights of workmen are stressed more than their responsibility o Ease of doing business is lost o The citizens are afraid of headload workers o Public sector units incur consistent loss o Indiscipline in work o Management is losing the right and the power to manage o Prevents the growth of ancillary units

o The unqualified has become qualified for jobs o Adverse impact on production and productivity 3.6 Questionnaire

Separate questionnaire is used for collecting data from each sources. However, questions are related to the major variables mentioned under the title key variables. Both structured and unstructured questionnaires are used for data collection. Unstructured questionnaire is mainly used to collect data from managers, trade union leaders and experts. A detailed questionnaire was used to collect data from the sample representatives. Besides the above mentioned variables, it consists of questions related to the socio-economic characteristics, working conditions and facilities, and opinion regarding management aspects.

3.7 Analytical Tools

Changes in labour market before Independence are analysed from a historical perspective. Both historical and case study method are applied to assess the sector-wise changes in the labour market after Independence. All these are analysed with the help of existing literature and logical reasoning. Besides, arithmetic tools such as percentages and averages are used to analyse the current changes in the labour market. Five point Likert Scale is used to assess the opinion of workers regarding different aspects such as facilities at the work place and the satisfaction regarding payments and perks.

Basically, this is a descriptive type of study. The scope for statistical techniques in analysis and interpretation is minimal and not required. The viewpoints of veterans in industrial management and labour in the State, regarding the trends of change in the labour market since 1920s are systematically and logically presented here. On most of the issues there are different viewpoints and justifications.

Chapter IV Trends of Change in the Kerala Labour Market: Twists and Turns Over the Years

4.1 Introduction

A trend-analysis study of a social phenomenon is basically a historical type of investigation. The concept, “trend” means, a general direction in which something is developing or changing. Change means, an act or process through which something becomes different. This study is primarily concerned with the dynamics of the labour market in Kerala.

Labour market has extended nexus with wage, skill, quality, outcomes etc. It is defined as the market in which the employers look and compete for workers and in which workers look and compete for employment (Collins English dictionary), whereas Investopedia gives yet another definition: the supply and demand for labour, in which employees provide the supply and employers, the demand. It is a major component of any economy and is intricately tied up with markets for capital, goods and services.

4.2 Labour market in feudal set-up

It is obvious that the labour market must have started with human activities. It must have originated in the form of slavery. Gradually, this changed into master – servant relationship – one to order and the other to obey. The janmi-kudiyan relationship in the agrarian sector had all the characteristics of a typical feudal society. Class and caste merged into upper class and lower class. But, there was no class-consciousness among the workers who did farm work for the land lord. It was an intimate relationship – the land lord playing the role of a paternal caretaker of not only the adiyan(worker) but his whole family. The adiyan had a sense of security because his master looked after all his needs and solved all his problems. In turn, the adiyan was sincere and faithful to his master. In other words, there was exploitation by the janmi but the adiyan was not aware of that. This sort of “labour market” was prevalent in the agrarian sector mainly in Malabar, Kuttanad and Palakkad. The main characteristic of this relationship is the absence of negotiation and a sense of equality between

17 the two. There was peace in the work place. Of course, there were exceptions and aberrations to this generalisation. Poet Changambusha’s “Vazhakkula” emphatically brings out the flip side of the feudal relationship.

The farm workers organised themselves under the banner of socialism and started unilaterally fixing the working hours in the paddy field and also the wages and perks. The union leaders conveniently ignored the fact that paddy cultivation in Kuttanad is very risky. At any time, there could be flood in the region due to heavy rains and the water brought by Pamba and Manimalayar from the high range. Lot of emergency work situation arises. Hence, field work timings could not be regulated as per the norms of factory work under safe roof. The local leadership forgot that farming under the open sky was not equivalent to well- protected electric-driven industries(Radhakrishna Pillai).

This tendency of the unions resulted in frequent conflict between the land owners and the workers. The land owners - big and small, strengthened themselves through strong unions to encounter the organised might of the workers. Obviously, the labour market in the agricultural sector all over the state became an arena for class struggle and occasional violence. Another factor is the workers’ strong objection to mechanisation of cultivation. The net result was the gradual withdrawal of land owners from agriculture. The adversity of the impact is visible. Production of paddy came down to 7.5 lakh tonnes from 14 lakhs in the State.

4. 3 Labour market during industrialisation (1920 – 1947)

The labour market especially in the industrial sector in India emerged during the 19th century thanks to the laudable efforts of the British. Entrepreneurs from England and Scotland established small, medium and big factories in India especially in Kanpur, Ahmadabad and Bombay (textiles), jute industries in Bengal and coir industry in Alappuzha and suburban areas. Likewise, Manavalakurichi and Chavara developed into the hub of mineral industry. The Travancore Titanium Products was established with the support of the British Titanium Products (London, whereas the Cochin Refineries with the help of Philips (United Kingdom), Cominco Binani Zinc Limited with COMINCO (Consolidated Mining Company, Canada), Indal with Aluminium Canada (ALCAN), Madurai Coats with Finlay

Brothers (UK). Gradually, the industrial labour market came into existence in Kerala as a result of these developments.

Meanwhile, the coir industry in and around Alappuzha became vibrant. The workers in the big coir manufacturing companies, mostly owned by the British business companies started protesting against long hours of work, denial of leave, low wages, bad working conditions and authoritarian style of management. In 1922, the Travancore Coir Workers’ Union came into existence. It was only a loose conglomeration of workers. V.K. Velayudhan, a young dynamic Advocate took the leadership of the union. Since majority of the workers in the sector belonged to the Ezhava community, the SNDP under the leadership of C. Kesavan strongly supported the efforts of Velayudhan and the name of the organisation was changed to the Travancore Coir Workers’ Association. It slowly derived strength from the doctrine of socialism. Naturally, the managements of these coir companies strongly opposed the unionization by indulging in strong disciplinary action. In 1921, a big convention of workers was held in Alappuzha and V. K. Velayudhan became the Secretary and M.K. Antony became the President. They brought out a publication by name, “Thozhilali” and the reputed writer P. Kesavadev was one of the editors. Soon other leaders such as R. Sugathan, P.K. Bava, C. Kesavan, Sahodaran Ayyappan and later, P. Krishna Pillai took up the leadership of the workers and steadily generated a powerful labour movement in Travancore based on Marxian dialectics. In 1937, at an important public meeting of the workers’ association a red flag appeared for the first time. That was a turning point of historical importance. P. Krishna Pillai became the Secretary of the newly constituted Communist Party at a conference in Malabar in 1937. He extended his union- building activities among the cotton mill workers in Kozhikode, the beedi and the handloom workers in Kannur, the small-scale farmers and the farm workers extensively in Malabar.

4. 4 Growth of unions

Parallel to the growth of the cashew industry, trade unions also grew up thanks to the efforts of C.M. Stephen, B.K. Nair, Varadarajan Nair, C.N. Sreekantan Nair, Chitharanjan, T.K. Divakaran and their successors. Obviously, the cashew industry could not escape being an arena of struggle with occasional militancy. The net result was the large-scale migration

19 of the cashew production units to the Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu. The same type of outmigration happens in the coir sector also. Out of the 30 and odd coir manufacturing companies in Alappuzha, 27 have already set up their branch units in the Pollachi - Coimbatore industrial belt.

The Kerala labour market has been very vibrant and dynamic since 1940s, thanks to the left-oriented political parties and their unions. The main driving force of this dynamism was the class struggle theory and the social, economic and political philosophy of Karl Marx. The initial struggles were in the agricultural sector, especially in the paddy fields in Malabar and Kuttanadu. Gradually, the struggle spread to the industrial sector especially in Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Palakkad which are the industrial hubs of the State.

4.5 Vayalar – Punnapra struggle (1946)

It was a well-planned and highly inspired struggle against the authoritarian rule of the then Divan Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer. The participants were workers and the marginalised communities mainly from Alappuzha region. It was described by historians as a communist uprising. It became violent and hence, the State Government had to engage the army to contain it. T.K. Varghese Vaidyan, a leader of the struggle, had gone on record, saying that it was a rehearsal for a larger revolution with the ultimate objective of establishing a "Communist India".

This political struggle, though a failure, gave a strong stimulus and courage to the workers and their leaders to fight against the unfair labour practices of the managements in the industrial sector.

In one sense, the struggles of the unions were justified. For, there was exploitation in the real sense of the term. The dignity of labour was not understood by the then managements and the land owners. Concepts such as fair wage, living wage, safe work environment, personal dignity, self-respect, sympathy and empathy were oblivious to those managements which were nurtured in colonial culture, based on imperialism.

Meanwhile, the cashew industry started thriving in Kollam town and suburban areas. Francis Pereira, an English man took the initiative in promoting cashew business in the area

20 and exported the products to Europe and the USA thereby encouraging the natives. Prominent among them are Thangal Kunju Musaliar, Poilakkada Parameswaran Pillai, Vender Krishna Pillai. Gradually, Kollam became the hub of the cashew industry in the State.

4.6 Protection through labour laws

The labour market assumed strength and the workers became more and more conscious of their rights, thanks to the strong political-trade union movements, minimum wages, working hours, safe and healthy working conditions, welfare measures etc. Realising these justifiable needs, the Government of India appointed the Royal Commission on Labour-popularly known as the Whitley Commission, in 1930. As per its recommendations, the Government brought out a spate of labour laws such as the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946. This process continued till 1947 when India became politically independent.

4.7 Towards public sector (1956 – 1990)

It took time for the newly constituted government (1947) to settle down and develop appropriate policies and programmes. Accordingly, the First Five Year Plan was initiated in 1951 with emphasis on development of agriculture and increase in food production. In 1956, the Second Plan was formulated with emphasis on industrial development. For this, a new Industrial Policy Resolution was brought out in 1956. After protracted discussion, the Parliament passed the Resolution. Accordingly, India would have a dominant public sector occupying the commanding heights of the economy and a private sector which is controlled and regulated by the Government. And the household units in the traditional sector would be encouraged and promoted along with small-scale industries.

In response to the ever-increasing struggles by the unions and guided by the doctrine of socialism, the Government enacted a good number of labour laws intended to promote labour welfare and provide social security through the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Factories Act, 1948, the ESI Act, 1948, the Provident Fund Act, 1951, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976,The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.

But, the most important legislation, regulating labour relations between the employer and the employee was the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. It more or less equalized the status of the employer and the employee on an equal footing and hence, wage and other issues should be settled through (collective) bargaining, conciliation by the Dept. of Labour or through litigation at the Labour Court or Industrial Tribunal, State High Court and finally, the Supreme Court; not through blind struggles. In this respect, the Indian labour is more or less on par with their counterparts in the UK, Europe, the USA, etc.

Contrary to expectations, the public sector-oriented industries and institutions could not perform well and one by one, they gradually became a financial burden to the State and the Central Governments. The economy was on the verge of a breakdown during 1980s. Being the public sector, the union leadership with political support dominated these industries and slowly but steadily deprived the managements of their legal rights and the freedom to manage the units and their business. The labour market in most of the public sector units and in many of the private sector units also was controlled by labour, represented by the union leadership. In Kerala, there are about ten thousand unions having powerful leadership, capable of competing with employers even in the private sector.

Disputes on wages, wage hikes/ long term settlements, and ever so many issues disrupts the functioning of the industry. Intimidation by the union leaders, external leaders, militancy, violence and threatening the managements have become the order of the day. Waging battle over “class struggles” was the mental motto. The “gherao” contributed by West Bengal was easily adopted by Kerala with no questioning/understanding of its implications. Several companies faced strikes, lock outs, lay-offs and closures. A sarcastic remark of a senior HR Manager is that the “Industrial Disputes Act was more of a dispute- making and not dispute-settling legislation, in practice.” The net effect was that industrially, the State is far behind Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Among the various causes, hyper active unions is one of the causes according to several senior managers and subject experts. That private capital is afraid of Kerala is a fact.

4.8 The positive impact of Trade Union

Managements were compelled to change their authoritarian style of functioning and their attitude of taking labour for granted. The dignity of manual labour was restored to a great extent. In several organisations, the average worker is a VIP, pampered by the union leadership but secretly, viewed as a necessary evil by the management to operate its machines and bring out the stipulated products.

Workers, though many of them were illiterates, came to recognise their rights and privileges and understood that without their support, capital is unproductive. They realised that they have the power of numerical strength, legal power and political support to encounter assaults on their dignity and rights. The right to bargain provided by the Industrial Disputes Act raised their status to an equal footing with the management. During the 60s and the 70s, there was a movement in India to ensure workers’ meaningful participation in the management of the business. Workers’ education offered by the Central Government had its positive impact on their roles and responsibilities in the work situation. In fact, labour in the organised sector was slowly moving up from fair wages to living wages-from being in the lower class to becoming a member of the middle class with all its characteristics. The standard of living cannot but increase when the monthly income reaches Rs. 50,000 and above with perks. In one sense, this was a golden age of Kerala labour and of the unions.

In general, it can be stated that Keralites’ are in favour of the working class and their dignity and rights thanks to the influence of Marxian philosophy based on class- consciousness and struggles against the bourgeoisie and its exploitation. Naturally, both the left-oriented and the right-oriented governments adopted a pro-labour policy and patronage. Furthermore, the public are in favour of industries and institutions promoted by the State in spite of their incompetence and poor performance. Obviously, private capital has been reluctant to invest in Kerala.

4.9 The flipside

The current economic system in India, controlled by private capital is profit-oriented and creative but highly exploitative and unfair to the working class and the public. Hence the slogan is, “fight with all your might at present so that the bourgeoisie could be eliminated

23 today and the new system put in place by the public sector tomorrow will help you live better forever”(Inquilab zindabad). The inevitable adverse impact of this attitude and approach on the organisation is lack of discipline in work resulting in poor performance and low output.

4.10 Interference in recruitment

In the various public sector units, the recruitment and selection of personnel from top to bottom is done by the managements, often, under pressure from the political bosses and the union bosses. Merit of the candidate is often overlooked. Political affinity, nepotism, parochialism and bribe are the determinants. Obviously, the company/institution becomes dysfunctional, gradually becoming sick and awaiting for life-saving financial assistance from the government.

4.11 Irrational practices

Revision of wages and bonus is not based on any proportionate increase in the quantum of output but just the passing away of three or four calendar years. Increase in wages, bonus and perks are not logically linked with the output of the workers or the business or financial status and paying capacity of the management. This has rendered many a public sector unit financially weak. Some big and medium units in the private sector boldly encounter this yearly-assault while some of them, by shifting their business to the neighbouring states. Gwalior Rayons (Calicut), Madurai Coats (Koratti), Alind (Kundara), Punalur Paper Mills and a few others could have survived, if the local union leaderships were a little “kind and accommodative” to the request of the managements when they were in crisis. Perhaps, KSRTC, Kerala Automobiles (Balaramapuram) and a good number of textile mills in the State are suffering from indebtedness and bad business. Instead of enabling the managements of these companies to reform and modernise the style of functioning with the latest technology, the union leadership look at the government for periodic succour.

4.12 Interpreted wrongly

Often, the very complex Marxian class concepts were interpreted wrongly according to the whims and fancies of young, enthusiastic, local union leaders so much so even

24 marginal farmers and petty shop keepers and tea shops were labelled as “muthalalis”, described as “class enemies” and exhorted their workers to fight against them “for justice”. Of course, presently, there is a change in this approach.

4.13 Inter-union rivalry

A lacuna in the functioning of unions in the industries is to put forth more and more demands for increasing wages, perks and welfare measures without taking into consideration the paying capacity of the companies. In general, union leaders compete with each other in demanding more and more benefits which the company could not afford. Inter-union rivalry doesn’t give peace and prosperity to the organisations. The solution suggested by the late N. Sreekandan Nair(Founder leader of RSP and UTUC) was “one union in one industry”. Political interests and differences among the parties is the hindrance.

4.14 Issues raised by managements

During the interactive sessions with a few top managers of the coir companies in Alappha, several unresolved issues related to labour and their unions were mentioned, seeking redressal through the Coir Industrial Relations Committee(CIRC). Some of the major issues are listed below:

 Irrational way of paying exchange benefit The coir business in Alappusha is export oriented. In the international market there is frequent fluctuations in the price of coir products. When the exchange rate between rupee and dollar changes in favour of the rupee, the extra benefit earned by the company has to be shared proportionately with a proportionate increase in the wages of workmen. But, when the company loses the exchange benefit, the unions will not allow the management to reduce the wages proportionately. This causes a big financial erosion in the profit of the company.

 Resistance to productivity There is productivity-resistance from workers. Though major factories are mechanised, they are not getting the benefit of it. “We cannot increase the production. None of the management will retrench the workers due to mechanisation. Even if mechanisation

25 is introduced, workers are not inclined to increase their unit production. Though they can enhance the take-away amount and the company also gets benefit due to it, they are not inclined to enhance their output. Unless labour productivity is enhanced, there is no chance or further enhancement of wages in the coir industry. Frequent unscientific enhancement of wages and perks adversely affect the companies’ very existence.” (Management representatives).

 Inter -union rivalry This is a perennial problem in the organized coir industry, creating functional difficulties at the shop floor. Day-to-day work-related problems could not be resolved because of lack of unity among the unions. What the leaders agree individually in private discussion, they disagree when they come together for collective negotiation. Because of this, problems remain unresolved.

 Strikes and unfair practices “Frequent unexpected work stoppages is another problem. If there is an unresolved issue in a particular company, the unions have the right to go on strike. What happens in Alappuzha is different. Immediately, workers in all other 30 and odd factories stop their work immediately to express their support and sympathy. The entire coir industry comes to a halt, adversely affecting the output targets of all other company which are not in any way related to the dispute.” 4.15 Profile of Kerala labour

The personality profile of a typical Kerala worker is directly and indirectly influenced by class-consciousness and cash-consciousness. In fact, opinions differ.

The National Commission on Labour – 1969, (Page 143) in its report states: “The Kerala worker is painstaking and intelligent. He has no difficulty in moving anywhere…....He has a remarkable adaptability to any environment.” B R Munshi in an article entitled, “A look into the Human Side of the Worker” in the Souvenir of the IIPM, 12th Annual Conference, (Pages 26-29) has this description: “Kerala worker is literate and loquacious. He is proud of his literary and his power to argue. He cannot take any statement by lying down. He wants every statement to be proved to his

26 satisfaction. Experience has shown that, if one can satisfy his curiosity, he is a loyal and disciplined worker. He is a very efficient technician and has tenacity for work. It is only when he is rubbed on the wrong side, the trouble starts.” M. K. K. Nair (former CMD of FACT) had recorded in an article entitled, “The Role of Public Sector in Kerala’s Industrial Development” (1964) in the Silver Jubilee Celebrations Souvenir of Tata Oil Mill Workers’ Union (Page 38) that, “the Malayali, whose individual characteristic is often typified by the coconut palm, has no respect for others. Naturally, as a result of his misplaced ego and unwillingness to submit himself to any discipline, political, economic, social, leadership development became impossible in Kerala. Everyone high and low, lost himself daily in petty quarrels over piffles, while major developments were taking place elsewhere. Unbridled license among labour actively formed by fire-eating leaders who had no sense of responsibility had created a sense of insecurity among entrepreneurs. Side by side with the deteriorating labour situation, some managements too resorted to methods to safeguard their interests – methods of which were not always on the correct line. The result was disastrous. The very mention of Kerala brought before the mind of an outsider, an image of constant struggle between labour and management”. Sushil Bhatter (MD, Binani Industries Limited), while addressing the investors gathered around Hotel Le Meridien, Kochi in Jan 2003, after signing the single largest investment project over Rs. 1000 crore, recommended Kerala labour for employment, productivity, business-understanding etc., as below: “We have plants in all parts of the country and abroad. We engage Keralites and prefer over others. Usual saying that Kerala labour is troublesome and belligerent etc. is wrong. Over the decade of acquaintance with Kerala labour, we learnt the art of managing Kerala labour. He thinks and mentally agitates on every bit of his work. He has a craving and curiosity to learn. So, he asks questions. If not answered (not in the master-servant format of a non-Keralite worker), he’ll be totally ‘disengaged’. On the contrary, when he knows his part, he will die for the work, loyal to work and Company. So, the questions asked/clarifications sought are made available to him, he ‘takes charge’ and ‘owns’. This style of a Keralite worker is unlike that of any non-Keralite worker. If this enigma of Kerala labour is rightly understood by Managers, they’ll hire only Keralites. That’s why, in our

China, Middle East, and overseas most/all are Keralites. According to me, Kerala labour is unmatched in that, if empowered, extended dignity and respect, he will over-deliver and perhaps, more than the optimized level, without being told at every stage and with frequent follow-ups. When he owns up, work execution with quality is sure to happen”. According to a senior retired HRM manager, P. Devadas, “Work motivation among the workers, in general, is average though there are a few exceptions. Hence, their productivity and output is also average – below the stipulated targets. Obviously, discipline in work is minimal. The foreman and the supervisors are in a hapless situation. Most of them are reluctant to exercise their authority to discipline the workers and extract the stipulated output within the stipulated time, because they are afraid of harassment from the powerful internal union leaders. These leaders are, in fact, senior workers who do not work but indulge in union activities without any inhibitions especially in several public-sector enterprises. Most of them have strong political linkages. No wonder, many of the public sector companies have never utilised even 50% of their installed capacity. Before the organised might of the unions, having the patronage of political leadership, managements of public sector units are bound to be submissive”.

4.16 Political incursion - Lacuna in the Trade Union Act

The Act permits the labour unions the “constitution of a separate fund for political purposes.”

(1) A registered Trade Union may constitute a separate fund, from contributions separately levied for or made to that fund, from which payments may be made, for the promotion of the civic and political interests of its members, in furtherance of any of the objects specified in sub-section (2).

(2) The objects referred to in sub-section (1) are:--

(a) the payment of any expenses incurred, either directly or indirectly, by a candidate or prospective candidate for election as a member of any legislative body constituted under the Constitution or of any

local authority, before, during, or after the election in connection with his candidature or election; or (b) the holding of any meeting or the distribution of any literature or documents in support of any such candidate or prospective candidate; or

(c) the maintenance of any person who is a member of any 9 legislative body constituted under the Constitution or of any local authority; or

(d) the registration of electors or the election of a candidate for any legislative body constituted under the Constitution or for any local authority; or

(e) the holding of political meetings of any kind, or the distribution of political literature or political documents of any kind.

Due to this, the divide between state politics and the trade union activities is taken away. Theoretically, it is quite okay. But in practice, the political parties are given the legal right to make in-roads into the industrial and allied sectors. In effect, party politics is stratifying the labour market and the labourers into conflicting groups and the industrial sector is converted into an arena for enlarging the political clout of each party. Thus political activities can be seen as an extension of union activities and union activities as an extension of political activities. (M.M. Thampy) The sound principle of one union in one organisation is lost. (N. Srikantan Nair Formula) The scope for independent unions – apolitical unions is stifled in Kerala long ago.

An illustration: the Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Alappuzha) is in a crisis at present. There is a lingering conflict between the company management and the CITU leadership and it has adversely affected the day to day working of the factory. This conflict persists in spite of the efforts of Sri. C.V. Chandra Babu who is a member of the CPM State Secretariat. The crisis reflects the internal conflict in the local committee of the party. The main demand of the CITU leadership is that the present Managing Director, Smt.

S. Shyamala is to be removed from the post, immediately. The union has forwarded this demand to Sri. A.C. Moideen, the Hon’ble Minister for Industries.

But, the Chairman strongly opposes this demand, stating that the present MD’s performance is very efficient, effective and hence, the demand could not be accepted. It is understood that he has the strong support of Sri. TM. Thomas Isaac, the Hon’ble Minister for Finance. But, the union’s stand is approved and supported by Sri. G. Sudhakaran, the Hon’ble Minister for Public Works and Registration and a prominent member of the CPM Alappuzha District Committee.

Due to this conflict, production and supply of medicines valued at Rs. 4 crore as per an agreement with the Kerala Medical Service Corporation could not be carried out till date. This means, the company has to pay Rs. 1 Crore as penalty to the Corporation. The installed production capacity of the factory is medicine worth Rs. 100 crore a year. (K.A. Babu, Mathrubhoomi Daily, dt., 31-08-2017)

The inference that could be drawn from this illustrative internecine conflict (destructive to both sides in a conflict) validates the hypothetical assumptions of this study in respect of the style of functioning of the unions in an organisation. The union leadership has a dominant status and power over the management – the Chairman and the MD which is obvious from this demand. This is a typical example of the overt/covert denial of the right of the legal management to plan and carry out the business forward according to its decisions. The company has become the arena of political conflict between two warring factions of the local committee of a political party. The much-needed divide between politics and business management is erased by the union leadership.

4.17 Private companies

Managements of private enterprises somehow or other overcome the domination of union leaders and defend their business interests. But, the public sector in the State wilts under pressure. Frequent strikes, lightning strikes, prolonged strikes, go slow, tools down strikes, pen down strikes, token strikes, sympathetic strikes, fasting, gherao of senior managers, threats, use of foul language, lack of politeness and courtesy, disobedience of rules and regulations, will-full damage to machines, gadgets and company properties and even

30 local hartals are some of the pressure tactics prevalent in the industrial scenario of the State during the 60s and the 70s.

In other words, the labour market was twisted in favour of workers by the union leadership. It strongly intervenes in the recruitment of workers, placements, transfers, overtime work, promotion and stand strongly against disciplinary action by the management. The net impact is/was, Kerala has lost the opportunity for the growth and prosperity of the existing companies, resulting in loss of jobs. The labour market in the industrial setting started shrinking and the skilled youth, both technical and others are being compelled to seek placements in other states or in foreign countries. No wonder, a good number of engineering graduates appear for bank tests! In this context, the warning of the late P. Ramamoorthy (Member of the Polite Bureau of the undivided CPI) is very relevant: “The union of workers should not be destructive towards the company they work and earn wages and perks. If honey is to be tasted, it is imperative that the flower has to be protected and preserved.”

4.18 The golden period

The period from 1947-1990 could be considered as the golden period for trade unions in India in general and Kerala in particular. Through unionisation, workers acquired numerical strength, muscle power, money power, political power and the labour laws such as Trade Unions Act 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 literally strengthened them with adequate legal power. Naturally, the collective strength of the workers were able to tilt the labour market and the labour-relations to their advantage and domination.

4.19 Technology and the labour market

With the advent of innovative technology and digitalisation and infusion of modern management systems, and incessant Learning, Training and Development (LTD), the labour market in Kerala is experiencing fast changes in almost all sectors of the economy. It is obvious that strenuous manual labour is being taken over by machines. The consequence is the demand for the uneducated and the unskilled workers is on the wane. The low end jobs are declining in India and obviously in Kerala.

The powerful union leaders and their political bosses were aware of the loss of manual jobs, resulting in unemployment and under employment due to mechanisation; hence, they strongly opposed the infusion of machines and gadgets and even the “almighty” computer. There were strong struggles on this issue in Kerala between 1950-1990. For instance, in the coir sector, when the unions in Kerala strongly opposed even simple mechanisation, Tamil Nadu introduced simple gadgets and machines for de-fibreing, willowing and weaving and through this, overtook the coir industry of Kerala. It is a fact that the State, at present, depends upon Tamil Nadu for fibre, the basic raw material. Naturally, the price is determined by them and through that casts, its shadow on Kerala’s coir sector. The same situation prevails in the other traditional industries such as cashew, handloom and in plantations. Paddy fields in Kuttanad, Palakkad and in Malabar adversely suffer from opposition of the unions against the use of tractors, harvesters, thrashing and willowing machines. Naturally, paddy production in Kerala has come down from 14 lakh tonnes to 7 lakhs at present.

Union leadership has to accept the fact that production and productivity and through that profitability in a sustained manner can be achieved only through continuous innovation in manufacturing technology. Obviously, the unions have to accept this reality and bring Changing Dynamics of Work about changes in its policy and outlook. In a timely initiative, a Global Commission on the Future of Work is established to critically look at Their members have to be oriented to handle the changing dynamics of work. This body, which includes two representatives from India, is to new technology and survive or accept present a report at the 2019 commemoration of the centenary of ILO. The far-reaching alternate work for their livelihood. The modifications witnessed in the means of production and access to mobile information and obvious hypothesis is that technology communication technology has created a flexible innovation will cause continuous loss of jobs overall work environment. These applications allow relative independence from the rigid office for some but, it will generate new jobs and settings and make room for people to function with autonomy and even achieve a better work- opportunities for some others. In the life balance. But, in an increasingly competitive economic climate, these same developments emerging labour scenario, in India and invariably entail more intense activities and longer obviously in Kerala, labour without hours. Noteworthy is the acceleration in the demand for industrial robots, at an annual rate of technical skill is no labour at all, except those 9% since 2011, making the up-gradation of human skills imperative upon corporations and in low-end jobs. For, the manufacturing governments alike. process is rapidly undergoing technological Garimella Subramaniam, The Hindu dt., 23-08-2017

32 changes. In the ‘sunrise sectors’ such as steel, chemical and IT, the razor-edge technologies demand skilled, highly skilled and super skilled workers. Hence, capacity building, continuous up-gradation of knowledge, technical and social skills, competence enhancement, and on top of it, behavioural/attitudinal transformation are essential features. Without these essential traits, the day-to-day management functioning will be in jeopardy.

4.20 Women in the labour market

In the medium and large manufacturing companies, male workers have almost monopolised operative jobs in the shop floor. Many of these jobs require physical strength, job- related technical skills and the willingness to work in night shifts. Obviously, managements prefer men. However, in the coir factories, cashew, handloom and in the plantations in the High Ranges – tea, coffee and cardamom estates, in paddy fields, traditional sector of the coir industry, in small brick factories, in shops and commercial establishments, IT Parks and as domestic workers, women are abound. Women are preferred because of their modesty and obedience. But, they are almost driven out of the huge construction sector with the advent of workers from other states. In spite of the Equal Remuneration Act 1976, women are paid less.

4.21 Child labour

Several studies undertaken by the Department of Labour and the scholars indicate that, compared to other states in India, child labour is minimal in Kerala. In fact, parents in Kerala, in general, prefer their children to go to school to going for wage labour. Children presently found working in hotels, shops and small workshops are brought in secretly from other states by middlemen. The employers prefer children to adults because of low wages and their obedience.

4.22 Migrant labour

It is estimated by Dr. Irudayarajan that about 30 lakhs of Kerala workers are at present working in the Gulf countries – most of them in low-end jobs. The rest are educated – doctors, nurses, engineers and experts in management and are in high positions. This has created a shortage in the State for low-end jobs. Attracted by comparatively higher wages,

33 a large number of workers mainly from north India are here in Kerala and it seems they have plenty of job opportunities in the construction sector, hotels, shops and casual work. But, they are given less wages than what is prevalent here for Kerala workers, and treated as “second class citizens” by the employers and the general public. In other words, this migration has twisted the Kerala labour market to the past conditions of low wages and low respect.

4. 23 Factors which impact on the labour market in Kerala

A very interesting question is asked frequently by scholars: Can there be a stable equilibrium in relationship between the employer and the employee? It seems that a stable equilibrium in relationship and status is impossible. For, a good number of extraneous factors constantly influence and tilt the balance in Employer-Employee relationships. These factors make the employer dominant and the employee submissive or vice-versa.

An attempt was made to identify some of the major causative factors which disturb and determine the nature of relationship between the seller and the buyer in the labour market. In fact, this issue was the prime one during the interactive sessions with subject experts, HRM Managers, General Managers, management consultants and senior union leaders. A list of these causative factors is prepared on the basis of the inferences drawn from these in-depth dialogue sessions. Eleven major variables are presented here in the form of a diagram 4.1.

4.24 Impact verification

Likewise, the impact created by these causative variables is listed in Diagram 4.2. Some of the variables are very powerful but negative in their impact such as preference for party men in employment, corruption, inter-union rivalry, nepotism, parochialism, resulting in the selection and appointment of wrong persons (without the right qualifications and competency) which, in turn, affects adversely, the performance of the institution – chronic indiscipline in work, low production, low productivity and consistent loss. On the basis of discussion with several managers of companies, members of Chambers of Commerce,

34 management associations and subject experts, a list of adverse impact of industrial disputes and labour relations is given in diagram 4.2. The labour market scenario described here is that of the manufacturing sector in Kerala comprising medium and large industrial units in the public and the private sectors. Obviously, the E-E relationship in the IT sector is quite different which is discussed in the next chapter. 4.25 Wealth creation

The title of Diagram 4.3 indicates the possible output of wealth of a typical industrial manufacturing company, provided, the required “ease of doing business” is ensured without frequent interference from inside and outside. The partners namely, the entrepreneurs (who have mobilised the capital and taken risk), the team of managerial personnel (who get things done through planning, organising, directing, coordinating and controlling) and the workers through exercising their technical skills, bring out the targeted output in quality and in quantity according to a timeframe. The rest of the job namely, marketing and increasing the rate of profit will be done by other experts in the company. This is the theoretical, ideal and functional structure and operation of a production unit. The fundamental question is, where is the space in this set-up for an external union leadership? This question may appear a little bit strange and perhaps mischievous. The rationale is this: Why the IT Parks in India and particularly in Kerala are being kept free from labour unions, collective bargaining, long-term agreements (or disagreements), strikes and lockouts? Furthermore, why the Parks are registered under the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act and not under the more appropriate Factories Act? The same with the Export Promotion Zones, Why? This aspect was discussed in detail with our consultants. But, there was no consensus.

Diagram 4. 1. Factors which Impact on the Labour Market in Kerala (2017)

Party politics

Domination by Militancy & Mgt. violence

Domination by Corruption TU

Labour Market

Controlled by in Kerala - Govt. policy 2017 Migration of and its labour changes

Labour & Company Nepotism laws

Parochialism Inter-union rivalry

Diagram 4.2. Impact of the Labour Market on Employers and Business (2017)

Private capital has become shy Rights of Adverse impact workmen are on production stressed more & productivity than their responsibilities

The Ease of unqualified doing has become business is qualified for lost jobs Labour Market in Kerala - 2017 Prevents the The citizens are growth of afraid of head ancillliary units load workers

Management is Public sector losing the right and the power units incur to manage consistent loss Indiscipline in work

4. 26 Current status of industry in Kerala

A study by Assocham Economic Research Bureau (AERB) states that “Kerala had to improve its performance in areas like growth of industries (13th rank in India) and capital structure (16th rank)...... the State was ranked 16th in total input costs as a proportion of the value of output (The Hindu, dt., 09-09-2017).

It is obvious that the labour market in the organised industries in Kerala is not growing. At the same time, most of the public enterprises run by the government are either stagnant or declining due to persistent indebtedness. It is a known fact that the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation has incurred an accumulated loss of Rs. 3,000 crore. Obviously, it depends upon the State treasury to pay the salary and the pension. The roles of the managers of these institutions are not able to arrest the increasing losses. The interesting question is what is the actual role and attitude of the labour unions towards this decline in business.

4.28 Back to the private sector (1991)

The global economy was going through unprecedented radical changes; the winds of reformation were strong. The neo-liberal economic movement which originated in the West, gradually gained momentum and was blowing across Russia and its communist satellite nations and Asian and African countries. It was a mute rebellion of the private sector to free itself from the clutches of the Governments, the unions and their class- struggles, based on Marxian philosophy.

Obviously, India could not escape this storm of change, especially in the context of deepening crisis in the balance of payment position. Its economic crisis worsened with the pace of change. India regained its lost glory by pledging the nation’s gold in Switzerland to tide over the balance of payment issue. The same year, India moved away from the so-far travelled route of socialist economy with a dominant public sector, a regulated private sector and highly restricted foreign capital. The initiative came from Dr. Manmohan Singh under the Prime Ministership of the late Narasimha Rao. Soon came out the declaration of Economic Reforms of 1991, based on liberalization of the private sector, allowing foreign capital to promote industries and a free market for vibrant business.

Diagram 4.3.Wealth Creation if there is “Ease of Doing Business”

CSR Scheme Promotes Goods & professioa- lism services

Buys raw materials, Provides machines employment etc.

GDP Taxes for increases Govt.

Industrial unit ------Entrepreneurs Social Managers Exports & security for foreign employees Workers exchange

Develops Profits for shareholders infrastructure

Promotes Human ancillary Resource Develop- units ment Unity Activates through share unions market

Table 4.1 Growth engines of Kerala economy: industry/sector and the emergence of business land scape

Decade Industry/ Sector and the Emergence of Business Landscape

DOMINANT Management has been ‘Sunrise sectors’ follow Business ‘downsized’ by TUs to SUBMISSIVE Model with DOMINANT Management; continues

1920s- Agriculture, Traditional, 1960s Manufacturing - - 1960s- Agriculture, Traditional 1970s - Manufacturing

1970s- Agriculture IT/ ITeS BFSI/ NBFC 1980s Telecom Healthcare Traditional Retail Tourism Manufacturing BFSI/ Neutraceuticals NBFC 1980s- Agriculture IT/ ITeS Healthcare 1990s Traditional Telecom Tourism

Manufacturing Retail Neutraceuticals

BFSI/ NBFC

1990s- Agriculture IT/ ITeS Healthcare 2000s Traditional Telecom Tourism

Manufacturing Retail Neutraceuticals

BFSI/ NBFC

2000s- Agriculture IT/ ITeS Healthcare 2010s Traditional Telecom Tourism

Manufacturing Retail Neutraceuticals

BFSI/ NBFC

2010s- Traditional IT/ ITeS Healthcare 2020s Agriculture Telecom Tourism

Manufacturing Retail Neutraceuticals

BFSI/ NBFC

Manufacturing (KERALA): Chemicals, fertilizers, electronics, agro-machinery, food processing, rare metals, motors, alternators, machine tools, transformers etc.

Obviously, these radical changes in the Indian economy slowly but steadily brought about changes in the labour market. The thrust is on strengthening and enlarging the private sector through internal and external capital. The decline and the change of direction of the state-centered Soviet economy towards private capital, closely followed by its satellite nations and China took away the “shine” of public sector industries all over the world. And the working class and their unions also lost their “shine” in India and even in Kerala. The IT Parks are “silently declared” as union-free zones without collective bargaining, conciliation, strikes and lockouts.

In the State, the traditional manufacturing sector consisting of medium and large units both in the public and private sectors continue to be controlled by the union leaders. In other words, two diametrically opposite labour markets exist in Kerala – the union- dominant manufacturing sector and the management-dominant IT sector. Hither to, the sporadic efforts of the union leaders to extent their activities to the IT sector are being discouraged by the government. The obvious reason is where, “the ease of doing business is the basic norm for high performance in a competitive international market”, unions with their incessant demands and interference in day to day management has no space.

Chapter V

The Current Scenario 5.1. Introduction In the previous chapter, an attempt is made to document and analyse the gradual evolution of the labour market in Kerala stage by stage since 1920 up to 1991 when the New Economic Reforms were declared and introduced in India. It was a U-turn in the Indian economic structure, in the sense that the “controlled and regulated private sector” was restored to the “commanding heights of the economy” and the ailing public sector units are to be privatised or liquidated, because these units have become a huge financial burden for the Government of India and the 29 states.

Kerala is a typical victim of the sickness of the public sector units such as the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, the Travancore Titanium Products, the Kerala Automobiles, Allied Industries, Alind, Kerala Ceramics and a host of units numbering about 110. Most of these units have eaten up their investments and are dependent on the budgetary support of the State Government year after year. With the advent of the IT parks since 1995 an alternate sector with great potential in the private sector has come into existence in Kerala. There is a huge co-operative sector with production unit such as co-operatives in coir, handloom, textile, bamboo, and cashew. Primary data were collected directly from the management personnel, union workers, heads of the household and leaders. Documents made available by the units are examined critically.

5.2. Manufacturing sector The investigators visited the English Indian Clays Ltd. and collected facts and figures relevant to the objectives of the study. The unit is in the private sector. The company was established in 1950 in Thiruvananthapuram with clay as the principal product. At present there are 160 permanent workers, 100 temporary workers and around 100 contract workers (by outsourcing).

On the basis of referendum, there are three recognised unions (AITUC, INTUC and BMU). Even though some workers do not have strong political ideology, unions have strong political backup. According to the HRM manager working condition (work load, production and wage rate, etc.) is determined on the basis of long term settlement that once in 4 and half years. The decisions are finalised based on the negotiation between the

trade unions and the management. The agreements strictly follows the production targets and the paying capacity of the unit. Most of the time it took months to complete negotiations. Currently the settlement process is going on since past eighteen months.

Workers have the opportunity to work overtime and they get remuneration according to their work. Since they have to achieve the prescribed target, each worker is responsible to their duty. In the case of selection of workers, the company faces compulsion from external agencies and the management accepts it most of the time. Even though the unit is private, they do it for mutual benefit. Political leaders and officials of different departments of the government recommend their favourites for appointment.

Lockouts and strikes have declined, compared to previous years. It may be due to the loss in income of the workers or increase in the standard of living of the workers. If any problem arises, the management will resolve it immediately through discussion.

The company management supports the New Economic Policy Reforms of 1991 because it has improved the infrastructure facilities of the country including digital communication, which is important for the development of the industry. Besides, these policies have improved the forward linkages of the factory. That is, the derived demand for clay has increased. As a result, the management has enhanced the company’s production capacity. The majority users of the product are paint-making factories and demand from the European countries.

Although headload work is a serious issue, they solved it by agreement with the workers. The major factors influencing the success of the unit are proper planning and implementation, strong research and development. Each year the management prepares budget and production target. All the activities in the production unit strictly follow the rules. It is applicable for each staff in the unit, either worker or manager. Regarding research and development, this unit has a technology innovation department which continuously work for quality improvement, cost reduction and technology upgradation.

5.3. IT sector The onset of IT industries in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and other places presents a different picture. It has twisted and reversed many of the century-old labour and industrial relations practices prevailing in the manufacturing industry.

A survey was conducted among the techies (known as knowledge-worker) in Techno Park, Thiruvananthapuram. Out of the 78 techies 46.2% are male and 53.8% are female. The range of age is 20-36. The techies (samples) belong to different companies such as Allianz, Polus Software, UST Global, Quest Global, Mckinsey, IBS software, Infosys, Suntech and Eurozapp.

5.3.1 Socio-economic status

Regarding the education status only 5.1% have diploma, 56.4% have degree and 37.8% have post graduate degree. Only 10.3% are married and 89.7% are unmarried. Out of the 78 sample respondents 56.4% have technical education and 94.5% have graduate or post graduate qualification. About 23.1% attended training after joining the present post.

Nature of occupation shows that 48.7% are programme developers and the remaining are business executives/data entry operator/accountant. All of them have posted either by interview or by both test and interview. That is, all have been selected strictly according to merit. About 97.4% are directly joined the present post whereas 2.6% have shifted their previous job.

Table 5.1 Classification of techies on the basis of their monthly remuneration Income (in Rs.) Frequency Percentage < 10,000 10 12.8 10,001-20,000 14 17.9 20001-30,000 22 28.2 30001-40,000 18 23.1 >40,000 14 17.9 Total 78 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

The minimum monthly remuneration is Rs. 8000/ and the maximum is Rs. 50,000/ (Table 5.1). Regarding the satisfaction related to remuneration nobody answered the option extremely satisfied. Majority (64.1%) of the workers opined that they are dissatisfied with their present remuneration and 25.6% are extremely dissatisfied (Table 5.2). Only 5.1% are satisfied. Annual increment is based on their performance and the

company evaluates it twice a year. All of them know that they are only temporary employees and may lose their jobs at any time.

Table 5.2 Techies on the basis of opinion regarding their remuneration Opinion in terms of satisfaction Frequency Percentage Extremely dissatisfied 20 25.6 Dissatisfied 50 64.1 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 4 5.1 Satisfied 4 5.1 Total 78 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

5.3.2 Working condition

About 33.3% workers do not did overtime work, 33.3% did overtime work most often and 33.3 did it sometimes (Table 5.3). They do not get additional payment for overtime work. Out of the 52 overtime workers, only 3.8 %( 2) got additional payment. In the case of additional income generated also only 2.6% are satisfied (Table 5.4).

Table 5.3

Classification of techies on the basis of their overtime work

Category Frequency Percentage Frequently 26 33.3 Occasionally 26 33.3 Never 26 33.3 Total 78 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

Majority (82.1%) got one hour as break whereas the remaining 18% got only 20 to 30 minutes as lunch break. About 94.9% of workers are either satisfied or extremely satisfied regarding the facilities at workplace and only 5.1% have neutral opinion and they are not dissatisfied.

During the first two years of service the number of casual leave is only twelve, in the third year it is 14 and after that it is 16. The maternity leave is allowed only those who have completed one year.

Table 5.4 Techies on the basis of opinion regarding additional payment Opinion in terms of Frequency Percentage satisfaction Extremely 20 25.6 dissatisfied Dissatisfied 38 48.7 Neither satisfied nor 18 23.1 dissatisfied Satisfied 2 2.6 Total 78 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

Table 5.5 Techies on the basis of opinion regarding the facilities at workplace Opinion in terms of Frequency Percentage satisfaction Neither satisfied nor 4 5.1 dissatisfied Satisfied 34 43.6 Extremely satisfied 40 51.3 Total 78 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

5.3.3 Superior-subordinate relationships

For question who is dominant in your workplace, all the respondents answered that the superior is the dominant one. Regarding the relationship with the co- workers 69.2% are extremely satisfied whereas it is 30.8% and 28.2% for immediate supervisor and chief managers respectively (Table 5.6).

Table 5.6 Techies’ relationship with others at work place Opinion in terms of satisfaction Frequency Percentag e Immediate supervisor Dissatisfied 8 10.3

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 14 17.9

Satisfied 32 41.0 Extremely satisfied 24 30.8 Total 78 100 Chief manager Dissatisfied 6 7.7 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 24 30.8 Satisfied 26 33.3 Extremely satisfied 22 28.2 Total 78 100 Co-workers Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 2 2.6 Satisfied 22 28.2 Extremely satisfied 54 69.2 Total 78 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

Techies are not satisfied with the implementation of labour laws, dismissal procedure and grievance redressal (Table 5.7). Only 2.6% are satisfied with the transfer procedure. During probation period the company would not allow PF and TDS. 5.3.4 Social Responsibility

Each company has its own social responsibility. Some of the programmes are sponsor student education, mid-day meal programmes at schools and care and support to the AIDS affected.

Table 5.7 Techies’ opinion regarding labour laws and policies Opinion in terms of satisfaction Frequency Percentage Labour laws Extremely dissatisfied 18 23.1 Dissatisfied 34 43.6 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 26 33.3 Total 78 100 Labour policy/Standing order Extremely dissatisfied 2 2.6 Dissatisfied 74 94.9 Extremely satisfied 2 2.6 Total 78 100 Transfer policy Extremely dissatisfied 20 25.6 Dissatisfied 32 41 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 24 30.8 Satisfied 2 2.6 Total 78 100 Dismissal Extremely dissatisfied 20 25.6 Dissatisfied 48 61.5 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 10 12.8 Total 78 100 Grievance redressal Extremely dissatisfied 22 28.2 Dissatisfied 32 41.0 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 34 30.8 Total 78 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

5.3.5 Observations

(i)Trade union activities are banned in the IT campuses.

(ii)Enforcement officials of the Dept. of Labour and Skills are discouraged in visiting the campuses for inspection. It is enough if the management officially certifies that the company has been voluntarily enforcing all the stipulated labour laws to the satisfaction of the employees (Self-certification).

(iii)Recruitment in general, is on the basis of merit

(iv)In the absence of collective bargaining, the individual applicant is allowed to bargain for better salary and terms and conditions

(v)Strikes and lockouts are not allowed.

(vi)Unlike the managements of the traditional manufacturing industries, the managements of IT companies, are very powerful and can manage the industry in their own style. Strict obedience of the staff is required and enforced.

(vii)Some of the techies do not press for permanent status nor do the management offer such status. The strategy of these techies is to achieve increase in salary by jumping from one company to another and bargain.

(ix)Menial jobs like cleaning, loading and unloading, security etc are all outsourced to employment agencies

(x)Women are compelled to work in night shift

(xi)Promotion to higher posts is entirely on the merit of performance and not seniority

See the contrast between the manufacturing sector and the IT sector in respect of employer-employee relationship and terms and conditions of work. In the former, the employee, backed by the union, has the upper hand whereas in the IT sector, it is just the opposite.

It is obvious from the facts and figures presented here that the IT parks have generated a growing labour market in India and obviously in Kerala. The designation “techie” in normal usage indicates a graduate or a post graduate in engineering, employed in IT parks at the first level of the hierarchy. They are often described as the ‘the knowledge-worker’ of the IT sector. Psychologically, the self-image of a techie is that he/she is an ‘officer’ or an ‘engineer’ in the company. But, he is not aware of the fact that he is at the low-end job, drawing a monthly salary Rs. 8000-Rs. 50000 and legally, he is equal to the status of a sales man or woman under the Shops and Commercial

Establishments Act, 1960. Which means he is not an industrial worker with the benefits of the Factories Act, 1948, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, and the most important aspect is, he is out of the purview of the Trade Unions Act, 1926. This is the situation not only in Kerala but in all other states in India. The end effect is that techie cannot go on a strike or indulge in union activities or go for litigation at the Labour Court or the Industrial Tribunal. All these have given the managements of IT units a dominant status and the techies a subordinate status-just do the work obediently in a disciplined manner. However they have a good image and status in the family, community and among the larger public.

Notwithstanding the fact that the techies have complaints and grievances they should not be allowed to organise themselves into strong trade unions under the shadow leadership of political leaders. However, there is need for some setup to look into ‘unfair employment practices’ indulged in by the companies and initiate corrective measures. The State government also should be watchful of practices of managements which are damaging to the job security and social security of the techies and strongly intervene, if necessary.

5.4 Co-operatives

This sector presents a different picture. The sector consists of a good number of production units such as coir societies, handloom societies, coffee house, toddy, handicrafts and so on. People engaged in this sector have multiple roles to play namely, shareholder of the society, as a worker and get elected as an office bearer of the management (Secretary, Treasurer and President). In the context of Kerala, the society members are also members of some political party which controls and guides the working of the society. The situation is confusing. We cannot identify the worker selling his labour for a wage and the employer who is buying the labour.

5.4.1. Spinning Mill, Co-operative, Chathannoor

The mill was established in early 1980. There are 252 workers, 20 staff and 7(security) contract workers. There are three shift in production, each having eight hours. The wage rate for one shift is Rs. 600/ and the workers have ESI benefit. At present, there are five unions with political support, which includes CITU, ATUCI, INTUC, KTUC, and UTUC. However, there is no power struggle between workers and the management.

Due to financial difficulties, there is no negotiation for a long term agreement on wage revision and perks.

But the workers are not aggressive in nature. Generally, workers are not interested in their work, therefore absenteeism is very high.

The major challenges faced by the Mill are difficulty in marketing the products, lack of raw materials mainly due to default in payments, workers’ absenteeism, lack of proper maintenance of the machinery and inadequate R and D and innovation.

As part of a project for the development of the Mills, the National Co-operative Development (NCD) institution had given Rs. 47 crore in 2015 on condition that the State government contributes Rs. 10 crore as its share. Since this contribution is not made by the Government till date, Rs. 47 crore received could not be utilised for the revival of the Mills. Hence, it has almost become dysfunctional.

5.4.2 Indian Coffee House

A survey was conducted among workers in three of the Indian coffee houses, of which 2 are from Thiruvananthapuram district and one from Kollam district. Out of the 20 workers all are male and generally the nature of employment is permanent. Nobody have technical education and do not attend any formal training. However, there is 18 month training in the initial period. The post at the initial period is general worker. After the completion of the training period, the branch manager post the worker permanently with the concurrence of the head office. The different sections of the work are coffee, service, pantry and cleaning. There are mainly two shifts: 5am to 1pm and 1pm to 9pm. But the trainers do their jobs at any time. There is no trade union and no strike in the coffee houses. The posting of the workers is mainly for dependents of the present workers. However, there is test for promotion to the post of cashier.

About 70% are married and 30% are unmarried. Age structure shows that it varies from 28 to 54. About 20% belong to the age group 20-30, 30% belong to 30-40, 30% belong to 40-50 and the remaining in the age group more than 50. Educational status shows that 10% have Degree, 30 % have higher secondary, 40% studied up to tenth standard and the remaining 20% have high school education.

The number of service varies between one to 22 years. About 60% have more than 10 years experience. The type of work shows that 30% serve as cook, 40% are supervisors

and the remaining 30% are general workers. All the workers entered the service on the recommendation of relatives.

Table 5.8 Workers on the basis of their opinion in terms of levels of satisfaction (in percentage) Category Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Extremely Total satisfied satisfied nor dissatisfied Supervisor 100 100 Manager 100 100 Co-worker 60 40 100 Remuneration 10 80 10 100 Bonus 10 80 10 100 Labour laws 30 60 10 100 Transfer 10 30 60 100 Dismissal 20 30 50 100 Social security 100 100 Grievance 90 10 100 redressal Source: Primary Survey, 2017

The monthly salary varies from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 27000. It depends on the years of service. The working hours in a day is 8 hours. However it extended to 10/11 hours depending on the volume of work. About 90% of the workers do additional hours without any extra payment. The remaining 10% do not do additional work.

After the training period they have 20 days casual leave and 3 days earned leave in a year and one day weekly off. All are satisfied with the facilities at workplace except those who work in the kitchen (slightly high temperature in the kitchen). They are satisfied with the standing orders of the establishment. Workers get either ESI benefits or Rs. 500/ per month as medical allowance. The Board provides accommodation to the workers who need it. The food is available at concessional rate for two times in a day.

Even though workers and managers have equal power, managers dominate in taking decision. In the case of five point scale on satisfaction and different aspects of workplace, nobody opt the extremely dissatisfied category (Table 5.8). All are satisfied regarding the relationship with the supervisor and the manager. In the case of co-workers 60% of the respondents are satisfied and 40% are extremely satisfied. Majority (90%) of the workers are satisfied with remuneration and bonus. The same is the case of social security and grievance redressal.

All the respondents believe that if the workers are given authority with responsibilities in the management, it would reduce the number of disputes in the establishments. All the workers agree that employers and workers are two essential wheels of the productive system and they must always co-operate. This is the contributory factor to the success of the business.

5.4.3 Observations

The Indian Coffee House is a typical and successful business co-operative society. The head office of the Coffee house is situated in Thrissur, Kerala. There are 11 members in the board and more than 3000 workers. The board conducts general body meetings yearly and the branch managers’ meetings frequently. Dismissal of a worker is very rare: only when one who work against the interests of the board. After completing 58 years one gets pension benefits. Board also gives loan to its members according to their needs and salary. The complete menu of each coffee house is determined at the head office on the basis of each place’s demand from the public. The price of each product is also fixed by the board. Tips given by the customer are pooled in a box and opened it every month with the presents of branch manager and cashier and contributed to pension fund, so that everyone in the unit will get the benefit. The average monthly collection of tips in the surveyed coffee house is Rs. 25000/. Here there is no bargaining between the employer and the employee. There was no strong union in the workplace. Even though there are two trade unions emerged recently in this area it is not functioning (INTUC and CITU). The employer and the employee have equal power. There is no power struggle between them. They are not working on the basis of any labour laws. If there is some work to complete in the particular shift, the workers consider it as the part of their work and complete it without any argument or additional payment. The wage rate is also

determined on the basis of their years of service. The only wage difference between the manager and the worker is the higher grade pay of the manager.

The appointments are done by the board. Most of the time it is allotted for the dependents of their workers or based on the recommendation. But after the posting, each worker undergoes training, which helps them to adjust with any situation.

One of the managers opined that the success of the business is that the manager is an insider who is obviously familiar with the working of the institution. And each worker knows that his survival depends on the success of the unit and he works sincerely. One of the workers said that the strict management practices is the secret of their success. If a worker’s performance does not match with the target, he will have to pay a fine. Political influence is generally not affecting their functioning.

5.5 Service sector Opinions are divided among economists on the question whether Kerala is more of a consumption –oriented State than a product-manufacturing State. In fact industrial development has decelerated since 1970s- 80s, resulting in the rapid growth of shops and commercial establishments. In other words, buying and selling of the products of day to day use, manufactured in other states and in foreign countries is the main activity of Keralites since the steady inflow of money-more than Rs one lakh crore per year from Gulf countries and others. Which means the service sector, more than the industrial sector, is the fast growing one in the State and it serves as the prime market of the manufacturing companies of other states. Naturally, the sector generates opportunities for low-end jobs of serving the customers, especially women with basic education in retail shops such as jewellery, textile, margin free shops, electronic shops, etc. Hence, examining the nature of this fast growing labour market is very significant. 5.5.1 Textile shops A survey was conducted among the workers in textile shops in Thiruvananthapuram district. Out of the 60 workers, 13.3% are male and 86.7% are female. The range of their age is 19-40. 5.5.1 (i) Socio-economic status Regarding education, only 6.7% have degree and the majority (75%) have studied up to higher secondary. About 80% of the workers are married and the remaining 20% are unmarried. Nature of occupation shows that 85% are sales girl/sales man followed by

accountant (10%) and floor manager (5%). About 80% of the workers have entered the service with the help of friends, 12% with the help of their relatives and the remaining 8% directly. Table 5.9 Workers on the basis of their monthly remuneration Income (in Rs.) Frequency Percentage < 6000 14 23.3 6001-10,000 22 36.7 10001-12,000 12 20.0 >12000 12 20.0 Total 60 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

Table 5.10 Satisfaction of workers regarding their remuneration Opinion in terms of Frequency Percentage satisfaction Extremely 0 0 dissatisfied Dissatisfied 12 20 Neither satisfied nor 13 21.7 dissatisfied Satisfied 32 53.3 Extremely satisfied 3 5.0 Total 60 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

The minimum and the maximum remuneration is Rs.4000 and Rs. 15000 respectively. About 40% of the workers got remuneration between Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15000(Table 5.9). About 60% of the workers got free food and accommodation. The annual increment and the continuation in the work depends on their performance. Even though, all of them do overtime work, sometimes, only 56% get additional payment. However, 58.3% of them are satisfied with their remuneration (Table 5.10).

Table 5.11 Classification of workers on the basis of daily hours of work Time (in hours) Frequency Percentage 8 3 5 9 15 25 10 31 51.7 11 8 13.3 12 3 5 Total 60 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

Table 5.12 Classification of workers on the basis of their break during the working time Minutes Frequency Percentage 20 23 38.3 25 19 31.7 30 18 30 Total 60 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

5.5.1 (ii) Working condition The working hours in a day vary from 8 hours to 12 hours. Majority (51.7%) of the workers come under the category 10 hours per day (Table 5.11). Break time during the working hours varies from 20 to 30 minutes (Table 5.12). Regarding the facilities at the workplace, 56% are satisfied, 26% opt neutral position and the remaining 18% are dissatisfied. However, generally they are satisfied with their present jobs and argued that there is no other better opportunity. All of them aware that their work is temporary and at any time they lose it. They are not bothered about labour laws or policies. Even though workers are eligible for PF, they do not know whether it is credited to their account regularly.

Reghu, 46, worked in a unit for more than ten years. While applying for PF loan, it came to his notice that, the employer had defaulted the payment for a long period. Another case is that Sherly, 38, worked as a single sales girl in a textile shop for 15 years. She got Rs. 9000/ per month. One day, the employer told her that they abolish her post and his wife would engage the customers. But after one month, Sherly notice that the employer has appointed another sales girl for Rs. 4000/. It is obvious that this is against ethics and justice.

Table 5.13 Satisfaction of workers regarding their bonus Opinion in terms of Frequency Percentage satisfaction Dissatisfied 5 8.3 Neither satisfied nor 22 36.7 dissatisfied Satisfied 33 55.0 Total 60 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017

5.5.1 (iii) Superior-subordinate relationships Like IT sector, here also the superior is dominant. In the case of relationship with the immediate supervisor, 15% are dissatisfied whereas it is 1.7% and 16.7% for chief manager and co-workers respectively(Table 5.14).

The majority in the textile shop in general do not issue any formal appointment order to the recruits. This is a very serious lacunae because the employee has no legal protection or rights due to him or her guaranteed by the labour laws. Likewise no orders are issued regarding promotion, transfer and other employment related matters. In fact there is no salary scale.

Table 5.14 Workers opinion regarding their relationship with others Opinion in terms of satisfaction Frequency Percentage Immediate supervisor Dissatisfied 9 15 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 29 48.3 Satisfied 22 36.7 Total 60 100 Chief manager Dissatisfied 1 1.7 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 18 30 Satisfied 40 66.7 Extremely satisfied 1 1.7 Total 60 100 Co-workers Dissatisfied 10 16.7 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 21 35 Satisfied 12 20 Extremely satisfied 17 28.3 Total 60 100 Source: Primary Survey, 2017.

5.6 Household sector 5.6.1. Domestic workers

The bargaining power of the domestic workers is found to be increasing day by day. Here the term ‘domestic worker’ includes home nurses (who attend old age people / after delivery care) and housemaids.

For analysing the situation, the investigator interviewed from these two categories of workers in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts. Besides, four agencies supplying these workers were interviewed and also, 10 household members employing these people. Opinions are also collected from 40 domestic servants, of which 30 belongs to four agencies which supply home nurses and 10 housemaids. All are married and 37.5%

are widows/separated. About 12.5% do multiple works. Their age varies from 34 to 61years. About 45% have qualified SSLC and the remaining have education less than that. The financial burden of the family compelled them to undertake domestic work. The average remuneration of the home nurse is Rs.10,500 whereas it Rs.7000 for housemaid. The remuneration and other working conditions of the home nurse is determined by the agency and they are more powerful compared to the head of the households. The housemaid’s payment is fixed by negotiation between the head of the household and the servant. In the given sample, 70% of the housemaids arbitrarily fixed their remuneration (and got it approved) whereas the remaining 30% received the amount fixed by their employers. Table 5.15 Satisfaction regarding the employer/employee and different aspects (in Percentage) Category Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Total disagree Agree Head of the household 80 20 100 Home nurse 42 10 8 40 100 Maid servant 26 42 32 100 Remuneration 20 80 100 according to housemaid Remuneration 66.6 33.3 100 according to Home nurse Source: Primary Survey, 2017

It is noted that 74% of the maid servants are generally happy about the employer whereas only 40% of the home nurses come under this category (Table 5.15). Regarding the head of the household 80% of them are unhappy about the attitude and behaviour of the servants.

It seems that the home nurses and the domestic servants would soon become dominant and the household members become submissive because the former is getting more and more organised into powerful unions whereas the latter is not organised.

Remya(the name is changed), a teacher, appointed a home nurse from an agency to look after her father. He could not walk due to chronic diseases. She pays Rs. 12500, per month to the agency as her salary. After taking Rs. 500 as service charge, the agency pays Rs. 12000 only to the servant. The teacher said that the duty of the home nurse was determined by the agency. As such, the home nurse takes care of only her father. The teacher also posted another maid for kitchen work from her neighbourhood and pays Rs. 6000 per month for 4 hour service a day.

Here, the home nurse from the agency is more powerful than the teacher and the kitchen maid. She decides the services to be rendered to the old man and does her job more or less satisfactorily. Others in the family accept her ego only because of fear of finding another one to replace her. In other words, the teacher “poses” some sort of submission in order to avoid open conflicts. Inspite of that the home nurse is not happy about her work and the stay.

At the same time, the house maid is happier than the home nurse and she is without any serious complaints. The inference is that the home nurse, being a member of an agency feels that she is “official” and assumes that she has a “status” and expresses it through her attitude and behaviour.

In general, the home nurses prefer postings in doctor’s families because in addition to the prescribed salary, they get free medical services even for their kith and kin. Sometimes, additional payments for extra work.

The inference is that the labour market in the domestic sector is undergoing changes. The agency has separated the job-seekers from the head of the households and as “middlemen”, dictate the wages and terms and conditions of employment. The agency has become powerful and exploitative. The labour market in the domestic sector is twisted. It is a money- making business without any investment.

5.6.2 Head load workers

Another requirement of a typical household is the service of loading and unloading workers. A family has to buy a lot of things for maintaining day to day life of his members and also undertake construction work and frequent maintenance work. All these involve loading and unloading of lot of materials-big and small. The problem arises in respect of big materials. The family requires the services of workers. A good number

of workers are available for doing such manual labour. It was a quiet sector until a few years ago. But thanks to the intervention of politically powerful union leaders these headload workers have become powerful, arrogant and dictates the wages and other terms and conditions. Over the years the unorganised householders are rendered submissive. The neighbours will not intervene. In fact, the typical household is left to fend for itself. There is imbalance between the workers and the buyers of their services is a recently developed twist in the labour market. These observations are valid as per the illustrative cases detailed below.

Ravi, 40, an ex-serviceman, shifted his household equipment from his quarters in Chennai to his house in Kollam. While unloading the things from the vehicle by him with the help of the driver and the cleaner, one headload worker arrived at thescene and demanded Rs. 10,000/ as Nokku cooli. After negotiation, the worker brought it down to Rs. 5000/. But Ravi did not agree. The worker strongly stipulated that the family members are permitted to unload without the help of the driver and the cleaner. Ravi accepted this challenge boldly and unloaded the articles. The inference is very clear.

Generally, people do not have the capacity to bargain with the head load workers. Union leaders always support the workers. As per the existing rule, the police has no power to intervene in labour disputes.

Recently newspapers reported that while unloading heavy machines at the Thiruvananthapuram airport from the plane with powerful cranes, the local head load workers intervened and demanded Rs 1.5 lakh as nokku cooli. Negotiations did not succeed. Finding no other way, the construction company paid the amount. The same was repeated the next day also. The company warned the Airport authority that they would stop construction work in the Airport if this unlawful practice was put an end forthwith.

A senior manager (Retired) of HLL complained that on of the “curses” affecting the business sector in Kerala is the dominant and delinquent behaviour of the head load workers.

5.7 Viewpoints of specialists 5.7.1 Manager (P. Rajmohan, Former Chairman, Hindustan Latex and Pollution Control Board, Chairman, Saraswathy Vidyalaya )

Exploitation charge against investors is one of the major threats facing the industrial sector. There is no law to protect the interest of the investors. Although the working time is eight hours per day, workers are reluctant to work for more than 4-5 hours. The bargaining power of the workers is above the laws. As a result we lost work- culture and industrialists are not interested to invest in Kerala. Here the solution is to accept workload scientifically and implement it with semi judicial power rather than negotiation. Workers do not have any strong political ideology, it depends on the industrial unit they work. In this context, the principle of temporary or casual workers is a good one. The production unit retains those who have strong work culture.

5.7.2 Manager HRM( Sri. Alias M.V., English Indian Clay Mines Ltd.) Trivandrum According to this manager, the major reasons for the loss of public sector units are lack of planning and implementation of the budget. There is no proper order in the functioning of the unit. Wage rate is fixed not on the basis of workload. Research and development is not taking place effectively in the sector. Besides, they give importance only to sales target and achievement of production. Productivity is not very important. Moreover, in public sector, social security is more important rather than target achievements.

5.7.3 Trade Union Leader (K.P.Sankar Das, State Secretary, AITUC, Director, Hindustan Latex and Director (Non-official), Kerala State Road Transport Corporation).

Compared to previous years the workload is increasing. The major factor affecting the production and productivity is the lack of raw materials. The ultimate victims of any problem in a production unit is the worker. They lose their salary or DA and managers get their salary.

Power struggle is very limited and never affects the production and the unit.

Short term settlement is better and it will be beneficial for the employer and the employee. Both of them can revise their target. The labour flexibility in the labour market decreases the number of permanent workers.

5.7.4 Trade Union Leader (V.J.Joseph, General Secretary, INTUC State Committee)

Wages are not determined on the basis of profit or loss of the company. Based on the Minimum Wages Act 1948, workers got reasonable wage at that time and which was greater than the salary of staff in Central Secretariat. The first pay revision of the Central

Government demands payment equivalent to the minimum wages of the workers. Article 43 of the Indian Constitution emphasises that wages should match the living condition of the workers. Based on the Indian Labour Conference the Central Government fixes the parameters for fixing the wages in 1956. After 60 years this parameters is not renewed. In 2016, the Supreme Court appointed a commission to study about it (Balraman Commission). Based on the report the Supreme Court verdict on 26 October 2016, states equal wage for equal work. But actually the managers do not share the portion of profit to the workers.

To him the lower wage is against the right to live. The present problem of low wages and contract work are due to the effects of market economy. The new economic policy of 1991 supported the system of market economy to grow. Today both public sector and private sector heavily depend upon contract labour. At first, it started by employing security staff and it was a good opportunity for the retired defence personnel. Gradually it grabbed other sections such as production, purchase, cleaning, etc. This affects the job security and the employment opportunities and welfare of the worker.

Regarding KSRTC, workers are not a problem and the sector is one of the profitable sectors in the private sector. In the public sector, basically the aim is to provide infrastructural facilities to all areas, particularly rural areas. The problem with the KSRTC is that corruption in the purchasing of stocks and lack of proper management. By appointing empanelled workers the benefits go to the government.

For the question “Why trade unions engage in the power struggle of a factory?” the answer is that there is no proper audit in the production unit particularly in the private sector. The share of wage rate of managers always increases whereas the share of wage rate of workers is getting decreased. In the case of KSRTC also the authority deny or delay the remuneration of the workers and not the managers. This is like the situation of British Rule. The workers are not able to fight with the managers or owners. That is why the union leadership intervenes.

5.8 Conclusion

The relationship between the employer and the employee in the IT companies, co-operative societies, textile shops and the households are examined and discussed on the basis of primary data collected from the field. The overall impression is that in the IT parks the labour market is dominated by the employer and the State government has

permitted them to be so. However, unlike in the manufacturing sector, here there is no sign of any “struggle” in the campuses since its beginning in 1995. The IT companies function without frequent disturbances.

Kerala has a large and vibrant co-operative sector comprising all kinds of business especially the traditional ones-coir, handloom, handicrafts, beedi, farmers, bamboo, pottery, etc.. There are different types of activity such as production, marketing and banking. A co-operative institutions is unique in certain respects. One is a legal member of a society, he is a shareholder, he is part of the management being a shareholder and also a worker. In other words, a member of a society is both a seller of work and also a buyer of the work-a two in one person. Therefore, there is no class conflict in a typical co-operative society and hence there is no chance for exploitation provided the members who manage are free from corruption. In one sense a co-operative production cum marketing unit is a classless institution according to an ideal Marxian theory.

The labour market in the textile and other shops is more or less same as IT companies. The shop owners are dominant and enforces strict obedience among the staff. The relationship is a little bit informal in the sense that these workers are not given any formal appointment orders, indicating the terms and conditions of service.

The domestic sector is undergoing gradual changes in its relationships with its domestic worker. As indicated earlier, the home nurses who take care of the aged or the chronically ill members of the family are, at present, a little bit aggressive in the household context according to the heads of the households. In fact, most of them do not have any training in nursing, not even in first aid. She is ignorant of the fundamentals of health care. It is only a qualification conferred upon these women to claim more wages and status at the work place than the kitchen maid.

Another powerful force that has twisted the informal labour market in the State is the aggressive and occasionally militant headload worker who demands wages disproportionate to the severity of the work. In fact the average householders are “afraid” of these workers.

Chapter VI

Conclusions and Observations

6.1 Introduction

This study is focused on the trends of change in the vibrant labour market in Kerala from a historical perspective. Facts and figures were collected from subject experts and a host of primary and secondary stakeholders of labour market such as management personnel, senior union leaders, workers, study reports and a few records provided by institutions.

Basically, this is a descriptive study of the past and the present, investigating into the various driving forces (variables) which are active in the labour market creating twists and turns in employer –employee relationships.

The main sectors of the economy consists of the agricultural sector, plantations, manufacturing sector consisting of small, medium and big factories, construction, IT, service sector consisting of hospitals, schools and colleges, shops and other commercial establishments, traditional industries such as handloom, pottery, coir, cashew and handicrafts and the vast coastal-fishing and fishermen. Kerala has a big labour market in all these sectors who are members of about one crore households.

The concept “labour” means, “practical work, especially when it involves hard physical effort. It also means “workers, especially people who do practical work with their hands.” (Cambridge Dictionary). For the purpose of this study, the concept “labour” means, “workmen” as defined in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Section 2(s) defines, workman as any person employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work, for hire or reward.

6.2 Feudal labour market

It seems that the labour market must have started with serious human activities, intended for production. It must have originated in the form of slavery. Gradually, that changed into a master – servant relationship – one to order and the other to obey. The janmi-kudiyan relationship in the agrarian sector had all the characteristics of a typical feudal society. Class and caste merged into the upper class and the lower class. But, there

was no class-consciousness among the workers who did farm work for the land owner. It was a stable and intimate relationship – the land owner playing the role of a paternal caretaker of not only the adiyan but his whole kith and kin. The adiyan had a sense of security because his master looked after most his needs and solved his problems. In turn, the adiyan was sincere and faithful to his master and his family. In other words, there was exploitation by the janmi but the adiyan was not aware of that. This sort of “labour market” was prevalent in the agrarian sector in feudal Kerala.

The main characteristic of this relationship is the absence of bargaining for wages and perks. There was peace in the work place. Of course, there were exceptions and aberrations to this generalisation. Poet Changampuzha’s “Vazhakkula” emphatically brings out the flip side of this feudal relationship.

6.3 The twist

But, the colonial managements treated the native workers badly: low wages, long working hours, unhygienic working conditions, no leave facilities and no job security. That situation paved the way for unionisation of the work force under the leadership of V.K. Velayudhan, R. Sugathan, P.K.Bava, P.Krishna Pillai and others. These leaders were young, dynamic and educated and influenced by Marxian concept of class struggle, leading to revolution towards a socialistic economic order. The red flag became the symbol of this ideology.

Inspired by the vibrant union activities in Alappuzha in the coir sector, the farm workers in Kuttanad, Palakkad and Malabar also tried to organise themselves under the red flag. P. Krishna Pillai provided the initial leadership. Local leaders gradually started, unilaterally fixing the working hours in the paddy fields and also the wages and perks.

Peace in the paddy fields was disturbed. The kudiyan- jenmi relationship in the labour market got twisted and gradually, the workers became powerful and dominant while the land owners became submissive.

The local union leaders unwittingly ignored the fact that paddy cultivation in Kuttanad is very risky. At any time, there could be flood in the region due to heavy rains and the Pamba, Achancovil and the Manimalayar rivers flooded the fields. Lot of emergency work situations arise in order to save the crop. Hence, field work timings could not be regulated as per the norms of modern factory work, carried out under safe roof. Local leadership forgot that farming under the open sky with the vagaries of rains and flood was not equivalent to work in the well-protected, mechanised industries.

This tendency of the unions resulted in frequent conflicts between the land owners and the workers. The land owners - big and small, strengthened themselves through strong associations to encounter the organised might of the workers. Obviously, the labour market in the farm sector all over the State became an arena for class struggle and occasional violence. Another factor of conflict was the workers’ strong opposition to mechanisation of the cultivation process. The net result was, the gradual withdrawal of land owners from paddy fields. The adversity of the impact is visible. Production of paddy came down to 7.5 lakh tonnes from 14 lakhs(1960s and 70s) in the State at present.

As indicated earlier, the Vayalar-Punnapra struggle initiated by the workers and their leaders in 1945-46, though a failure, gave a strong fillip to a labour movement all over the State.

The period between 1945-1980 can considered as the “golden period” of the trade union movement in Kerala. With numerical strength, money power, better education and legal power provided by the various labour laws and political support, the labour market was strongly twisted in the sense that the workers in all major sectors of the economy have become dominant and the buyers of their services (employers) were/are being rendered submissive, with a few exceptions here and there.

6.4 Other sectors

One of the major, alternate labour market is in the IT sector. It is a growing sector. More and more IT Parks are under construction in other states and in Kerala also.

The overall impression is that in the IT parks, the labour market is dominated by the employers and the State Government has permitted them to be so. The IT companies function without any disturbances. Perhaps, this may be due to the absence of unions within the campus. Outside, the head load workers, as usual, are very active and often creates problems and demand nokku cooli.

Regarding the techies, they are not satisfied with their salaries which are not proportionate to their degree and long hours of work without respite and uncertainty in availing of eligible leave and holidays. Lack of permanency in employment is another serious lacuna and worry. Due to this, techies do not have a sense of security and peace of mind.

In fact, employment in the IT industry is controlled by the availability or non- availability of project assignments from foreign countries. Night shift work is also inevitable, since business dealings with most of the companies are in Europe and in America. Likewise, prolonged work is also required sometimes, if the project work is to be completed within the stipulated time frame. The nature of the work in IT industry is quite different from that in the conventional manufacturing sector. Most of the existing labour laws are attuned to the systems prevailing in the manufacturing sector over the years. Therefore, a new set of laws specific to the project-based work of IT business has to be framed immediately and sincerely implemented.

There is persistent demand for permission to organise unions in the IT campuses. No other state in India has till date, given permission. Obviously, Kerala also cannot and should not give assent. If given, there is the risk of the existing companies gradually shifting over to other states just like the cashew and the coir production units. That would be the premature end of IT industry in Kerala. Hence, let it be a union-free zone just like the Export Promotion Zones/the Special Economic Zones. The Department of Labour take charge of the protection of the techies and others against any unfair practices by the managements.

Regarding the labour market in the textile and other shops, the owners are dominant and enforces strict discipline and obedience among the staff. The appointment is largely informal in the sense that these workers are not given any formal appointment orders, indicating the terms and conditions of service-the pay structure, criteria for increment or promotion, working hours and other statutory benefits such as provident

fund, insurance, gratuity and so on. Appointments and dismissals are as per the whims and fancies of the management. In all these matters, there is an element of secrecy. The proprietors, most of them, very cleverly keep out the enforcement officers and the local union leaders.

Kerala has about one crore households. At present, these households experience shortage of labour for casual works such as cleaning the premises, carpentry, masonry, plucking coconuts, electrical works, plumbing, painting, kitchen work, home nursing and other manual low end jobs. This dearth of labour is primarily due to the large exodus of such workers to Gulf countries, seeking better wages since 1980s.

It is felt very often that the householder is put under tension by the workers doing the services listed above. In general, they dictate the wages and other terms and conditions of work. It is a sellers’ labour market. If the householder argues and raises his voice, the worker is found withdrawing from the scene instantly and often advises others to boycott this particular household. Majority of the respondents interviewed had more or less the same experience. Even the head of the household as the employer who pays the wages is not allowed to supervise the work and demand correctives.

6.5 Impact of unions

Opinions are divided among scholars regarding the impact of about 12000 plus trade unions on the economy and the efficiency of the institutions in the various sectors in the State.

The positive outcome of unionisation as per the study are: workers in sectors such as manufacturing industries, agriculture, plantations, construction, traditional industries such as cashew, coir, tiles and those doing casual work such as loading and unloading, cleaning the premises, plucking coconuts, rubber tapping, plumbing, household electric works, maintenance work, carpentry, and such others have become a little empowered and can ably protect themselves against dominance and exploitation by the employers. In fact, it is the other way. They try to dominate and dictate the wages, duration of the work and the facilities they require. The employers are at the receiving end. There is almost no chance for the employer to bargain the wage rate, the working hours and the expected output. Of course, there are exceptions.

The question is, what are the implications of this domination in the labour market? Private capital is almost reluctant to invest in Kerala and as we know that, entrepreneurship and capital are the creators of jobs, jobs create labour and labour creates wages. The substitute to private capital is public investment by the government. Of the 100 plus public enterprises set up in the State, only 15%-20% of them consistently generate profit. Others incur huge losses year after year. In other words, job creation by these enterprises is almost nil. Which means, the labour market is diminishing in the context of increasing number of job-seekers-unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled? They are being compelled to emigrate to other states and abroad.

However, low-end jobs are available because of the exodus of Kerala labour and this vacuum has attracted workers from other states. What is the impact of this in- migration on the local labour market? The market has undergone a U-turn. Whatever the Kerala labour has laboriously achieved during the past 100 years is lost as far as the in- migrants are concerned. The actual wages, they get are less than the prevailing rate in the construction sector and others, working hours are fixed by the employer or the contractor, working conditions are very poor and sometimes dangerous, denial of statutory benefits, no compensation for injuries sustained during work and so on. The local union leaders are aware of this U-turn: the loss of everything the Kerala workers have gained through incessant struggle.

It is found that the dominance of unions and their leadership is more in the public sector enterprises than in private companies. In the latter, the managements strongly resist and control the unions by fair or unfair means. On the other hand, the public sector company has, in reality, no claimant in the bureaucratic set-up. The union leadership is more powerful than the management personnel because they are part and parcel of the political set-up. Basic business norms and objectives are opposed. Perhaps, the concept, ‘profit’ is a ‘dirty word’. No wonder, KSRTC has an accumulated loss of Rs. 6000 crore and the Air India has incurred a debt of about Rs. 56,000 crore. Setting up an enterprise is very difficult and managing it in a profit-oriented style is much more difficult. Unless, the professional managers have the freedom to exercise their competence in planning, organising, directing, and controlling, the business cannot be taken forward, taking risks and generate surplus incomes in a competitive environment. The internal union leaders are required to be aware of these requirements of modern business and change their style of functioning in the day to day working of the enterprise.

The internal leadership of the union should not destroy the superior-subordinate relationship at the workplace which, we know, is absolutely necessary for the superior to order and the subordinate to obey in the day to day operations. Otherwise, ‘the management process of getting things done through others’ would get eroded through continuous struggles, resulting in low labour productivity, low output and low profit or loss.

Likewise, the unions are required to agree to productivity-linked long-term agreements, instead of the present time- based increase in salary and benefits once in 3- 5 years, keeping the existing output without any increase. More profit means more wages, perks and social security. Less or no profit means less wages or no wages.

The New Economic Reforms (1991) envisage a return to private capital because, the public enterprises have become a big financial burden to the state and indirectly, to the common man. Kerala cannot blindly resist this U-turn to private capital and FDI, which means an investor-friendly industrial policy, based on ‘ease of doing business’ is a must, thereby, more and more job opportunities in all the sectors of the economy of the State could be generated, and enlarge and enrich the stagnant labour market.

APPENDIX I Bibliography

1. Berkely and Watson( 2009) ‘The Employer –Employee Relationship as a Building Blocks for Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility’, Employ Response RightJ, www.researchgte.net, accessed on 20/6/2017 2. Collins English dictionary(1994). Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers, www.worldcat.org, accessed on 30/3/2017, Daniel Druckman, 1997 3. Devamaindhan B(2014) “Employer - employee relationship’, Samzodhana, Journal of Management Research, Vol.3, Issue 1, October 4. Frederick Winslow Taylor (1910) The Principles of Scientific Management, http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/taylor.pdf accessed on 22/7/2017 5. Garimella Subramaniam(2017)Changing Dynamics of Work, The Hindu dt., 23- 08-2017 6. Govindarajan Vijay and Chris Tumble (2012) Reverse Innovation, ISBN 978- 1-4221-5764-0 (9hard back) 7. Government of India(1969) Report of The National Commission on Labour , pp 143 8. Mathrubhoomi, Daily, dt., 31-08-2017. 9. Nair M.K.K(1964), ‘The Role of Public Sector in Kerala’s Industrial Development’, in the Silver Jubilee Celebrations Souvenir of Tata Oil Mill Workers’ Union, pp38 10. Nanjundappa D.M., (1990). ‘Employee Ownership for a Stable Industrial Base’, Labour Employment and Industrial Relations in India, Papola T.S, etal. Department of Labour, Govt. of West Bengal 11. Nisren Osama A1(2015)Employee Relationship Manaement and Its Effect on Employees Performance at Telecommunication and Banking Sectors, A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Administration, The Islamic University Gaza. 12. Nizami Naushee and Prasad Narayan (2013) Decent Work: Insights from India’s IT Industry, Sage Publication India Private Ltd., PP.202 13. Kannan KP, (1998) ‘Political Economy of Labour and Development in Kerala, Some Reflections on the Dilemmas of a Socially Transforming Labour Force in a Slow Growing Economy’, CDS, WP, 284.

14. Prakasam Rajappa(1976) Human Factors in Industrial Productivity, Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Kerala University 15. Puthuma Joy (2016) ‘Changing occupation pattern of Kerala –Special focus to labour market’, Asia Pacific Journal of Research ISSN (Print): 2320-5504, Vol: I. Issue XXXVIII, 16. Revi Kumar S.P.(1991) Trade Union Leadership in Kerala, Thesis submitted to the University of Kerala for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work, University of Kerala. 17. Selamoglu.A and B. Urhan(2008) ‘Workers’ attitudes and behaviours towards thetrade unions: the case of Kocaeli’, Serbian Journal of Management 3 (1) 95 – 111 18. Shalina Susan Mathew(2014) ‘Labour market ‘inclusion’ in an era of economic growth: a case of women workers in Kerala, India’, The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 57, No. 4. 19. Tanya Alfredson and Azeta Cungu(2008) ‘Negotiation Theory and Practice A Review of the Literature’, EASYPol Module 179, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 20. The Economic Times, March 10, 2017. 21. Zartman W. (1988) ‘Common Elements in the Analysis of the Negotiation Process,’ Negotiation Journal, Volume 4, Issue 1 January, Pages 31–43

APPENDIX III

General Interview Schedule (workers)

Current Trends of Change in the Labour Market in Kerala, Sector Wise: An Inquiry Name of the factory/unit : Date of interview : PART I PROFILE OF THE WORKER

1) Age 2) Gender : a) Male b) Female 3) Marital status: a) Married b) Unmarried c) Divorced d) Separated 4) Designation 5) Nature of the employment: a) Permanent b) Temporary c) Others (Specify) 6) Educational qualifications: 7) Technical qualification if any: 8) Training attended during the previous three years of the date of interview (Write the name) :

PART II DETAILS OF EMPLOYMENT 9) Date of joining in the present service: 10) Types of work engaged in 11) How do you enter in the service: a) Test/Interview b) Others (Specify) 12) Who is the posting authority? 13) Who helped you to enter in the service?: a)Political leaders b) Trade union c)Others(Specify) 14) How many times you have shifted your job? 15) Distance from your house (own place) to the workplace (Km.): 16) Who helped you to get a promotion in the current service?; 17) Do you face any challenges related to your occupation? If yes, mention all

PART III WAGES

VII

18) Wages drawn (Monthly) 19) Type of wage : a) Piece rate b) Time rate c) Others 20) Average hours of work in a month: 21) Average output created in a month: 22) Are there any breaks in work periods? If so, specify the numbers and duration? 23) Specify the frequency of overtime work in the factory in a month: 24) Are you given additional work load? Frequently/Occasionally/Never. 25) What is the intensity (hours) of work and additional workload?

26) Is any extra payment made for the additional work load? 27) Your wages at the time of overtime work 28) Other benefit in terms of cash or kind in a year 29) Details of leave and absenteeism from the work

Category Total Availed during the Reason last year Casual Leave

Earned Leave Sick Leave

Leave without pay Accident Leave

Privileged Leave Absent/ Missed work (Present in the register only)

30) Which of the following reasons are responsible for your absent from work? (Can tick multiple options) (a) Nature of job as heavy/hard/monotonous/dirty etc. (b) Sickness own/family (c) Distant place of residence and lack of transportation facilities. (d) Family troubles. (e) Engaged in part time or side business. (f) After sufficient earning.

VIII

(g) Social or Religious causes. (h) Indebtedness. (i) Personal habits (drinking, gambling etc) (j) Engaged in agricultural work. (k) Fear of money lenders. (1) Any other reason (Specify). PART IV WORKING CONDITION 31) Do you think that your job is secure? If not, what is the reason of insecurity?

32) What is your attitude regarding the provision of the following in your work place?

(Below is given a list of provisions at your work place. Please tick your satisfaction level regarding these provisions.)

Category Extremely Dis Neither Satisfied( Extremely dissatisfied satisfied(2) satisfied 4) satisfied(5) (1) nor dissatisfie d(3)

Illumination

Ventilation

Temperature

Humidity Dust

Smoke and fumes

Safety devise Noise

Cleanliness

Over-crowding

Machinery

Canteen facility Others(Specify)

PART VI MANAGEMENT AND OTHER CHALLENGES 33) Are you satisfied with the Standing Orders of the establishment? Mention the drawbacks, if any,

34) Who is dominant in your factory: a) Worker b) Trade Union c) Management d) Others (Specify)

35) Below is given a list showing your relationship with others/structure in the work place. Please tick your satisfaction level regarding these provisions.

Category Extremely Dis Neither Satisfied Extremely dissatisfied (1) satisfied(2) satisfied (4) satisfied(5 nor ) dissatisfied (3) Immediate supervisor Chief manager Labour officer Co-workers Political leaders Trade union leaders(you belongs to) Other trade union leaders Wage structure Bonus Trade union laws Labour laws

Recruitment policy Transfer and promotional policy Dismissals and charges Social security schemes Grievance procedure

36) Have taken part in the strike related to your factory/company? If yes, give details 37) What are the challenges you face at the work place?

38) Do you think that if the workers are given authority with responsibilities in the management, it would reduce number of disputes in the establishment? Yes / No 39) Do you think that if the workers represent their cases directly and not through the Union, it would improve relations with the management? Yes /No 40) Do you think that the employers and workers are two essential wheels of the productive system and they must always co-operate? Yes /No 41) Do you feel that the interests of employers and workers are so widely divergent that cooperation between the two is not possible? Yes /No 42) What about your satisfaction level regarding your occupation (Mark any number between 1 to 10, 1 means lowest satisfaction and 10 means highest satisfaction): 43) Do you feel any corruption in the working unit, if yes explain

44) What are the challenges you face from the government policy or laws regarding your job? Explain.